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Frustration As Demand Overwhelms Massachusetts Vaccine Website

Vaccination for COVID-19 takes place at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen
/
The Republican / masslive.com

Western Massachusetts legislators are urging patience for those newly-eligible for the vaccine — but they're also frustrated at the state's glitchy rollout.

On Thursday, the first morning another million residents became eligible, the state's vaccine website crashed, though it was back up by afternoon.

State representative Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton said the state should have anticipated a mad rush.

"We've seen people sitting in their kitchens designing better websites than what we're currently using," Sabadosa said. "So I think that there are ways for the state to step up this program. I think it's simply a question of,...I don't know, it's underwhelming performance thus far.

She said that's been frustrating not just for residents but for clinics who need to plan their appointment schedule.

Given the state's limited vaccine supply, even when everything is working well, it could take 9 or 10 weeks to work through the current group, Sabadosa said. That includes people 65 and up, those with two underlying conditions, and those living or working in low-income or senior housing.

Brooks Ballinger is a retired union organizer in Amherst. At 70, Ballinger just aged into the new phase. He said he couldn't sign up either through the state's website or by calling a local pharmacy.

"I sort of get it's going to be chaotic, and they're going to make mistakes and I give them leeway for that," he said. "But I also think it just points out this huge problem in our society, and in our state, that we don't have a lot of thought into how we reach people who are not the most accessible."

Governor Charlie Baker said he's also angry about the technical problems, and he's working to make sure it doesn't happen again.

State Senator Jo Comerford of Northampton said Massachusetts surely has the technological talent to handle the job.

"Why can Ticketmaster take ... a million folks [on its website], but our state government is not able to?" she said.

Comerford is co-chair of the legislature's new vaccine oversight committee, which will be holding a hearing next week to probe various aspects of the rollout.

"The Baker administration says it has a plan, but we haven't heard about it," Comerford said. "A forthright, clear, transparent plan with benchmarks for different constituencies, different geographies. Those are things Governor Baker could do right now, frankly."

Karen Brown is a radio and print journalist who focuses on health care, mental health, children’s issues, and other topics about the human condition. She has been a full-time radio reporter for NEPM since 1998.
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