Kelly Hayes
Hillsborough and Pinellas counties have temporarily moved registration for senior vaccine appointments to the phone, following an opening day riddled with technical difficulties and clogged call centers Monday.
As of noon Monday, Pinellas County has closed registration, having filled vaccination appointments for the time being.
Those 65 and older looking to get vaccinated are required to make appointments in both counties. On Tuesday, both counties announced that they are temporarily stopping online registration, making registration only available by calling.
Those looking to get vaccinated in Pinellas County can call 727-824-6900 and select Option 4, or call 727-824-6931. From there, an operator will ask for specific information including name, phone number and date of birth. The operator will then work with the caller to schedule a date, time and location for their first dose of vaccine.
In Hillsborough County, seniors can call 888-755-2822. Hillsborough County tripled the number of phone center agents from Monday, and expanded its operating hours from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
Despite the changes, individuals are still having difficulty getting through the overwhelmed lines.
This update follows a disastrous opening on Monday, when the counties opened registration both online and via telephone. Due to the high volume of calls and site visits, phone lines clogged and sites crashed.
On Monday afternoon, the county cautioned against a fake Eventbrite account posing as a way to register for the COVID-19 vaccination, according to Pinellas County Health Department.
On a positive note, Hillsborough County did announce earlier this morning that they will be able to provide more vaccines this week than previously anticipated.
The county originally set aside 1,500 doses to be distributed at four vaccination sites for seniors across the county, starting Wednesday. Now, from a transfer of 3,000 doses from Tampa General Hospital, as well as additional doses expected to arrive from the state this week, Hillsborough will be providing a total of 9,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to residents age 65 and older.
In Pinellas County, plans to start administering vaccines to those 65 and older will start on Tuesday, as announced last week.
So far, Hillsborough County has vaccinated 15,088 people and Pinellas has vaccinated 14,979, according to state records.
Both counties are continuing to see high COVID-19 case numbers.
Pinellas added 347 new cases from Sunday to Monday. The county’s pandemic-wide total is now at 47,207, and has reported a death toll of 1,079.
