With Phone Lines Overwhelmed, Health Officials Urge Patience During Vaccine Expansion

Caption

Savannah nurses receive their COVID-19 vaccines in December. The vaccine will soon be administered to coastal residents 65 and older, their caretakers and first responders.

Credit: Emily Jones

Coastal Georgia public health officials asked for patience Thursday as the expansion of COVID-19 vaccinations got off to a rocky start.

“We are being flooded with calls and phone systems are being overwhelmed,” Coastal Health District spokesperson Sally Silbermann said in an email Thursday morning.

That’s when the district began scheduling appointments for what they’re calling “phase 1a plus.” Authorized by state officials last week, the expanded group for the first phase of the vaccine rollout includes people 65 and older, their caregivers and emergency first responders.

Those vaccinations will begin Monday.

Coastal residents who tried to make appointments Thursday said they were unable to get through. Commenting on a Facebook post by a GPB reporter, one said she was “frustrated beyond belief.” Some said they gave up; others said they succeeded in scheduling appointments in neighboring counties.

“The phone lines are working and we are answering and scheduling appointments as quickly as possible, but we implore the public to be patient as we move forward,” Silbermann wrote.

Coastal Health District officials did anticipate they would receive a high volume of calls.

“Even though we're adding telephone answering capacity, I fully expect the demand to be — to exceed our capacity," district health director Dr. Lawton Davis said Wednesday. “So just be patient. You know, we're not trying to stonewall anybody. We're going to answer and we will be answering the phones as rapidly as we can. And we want everybody to have access to this.”

Davis also encouraged people to check with pharmacies and primary care providers about getting a vaccine, rather than the health department itself.

In addition to administering and distributing the vaccine, the health department continues to run COVID-19 testing.

“We’re stretched pretty thin,” Davis said.

St. Joseph’s/Candler, one of Savannah’s two main hospital systems, announced Thursday that it was beginning its expanded phase 1a rollout. Scheduling had not yet begun, according to its website. Vaccines will be available to current patients of St Joseph’s/Candler physicians who are 65 and older.

The other main hospital, Memorial Health, told the Savannah Morning News it is concentrating on vaccinating health care workers.

There is not currently a list of vaccine providers outside DPH on the health district’s website, but Davis said it's working to create one.