Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

[serious crayons]

This morning I tried to phone to stop getting e-mail notices that my father can schedule a vaccine appointment (because he's already been vaccinated. Right. There is only one phone number to do that, you can't use the internet to cancel the notices, and the phone number is the same as the one you call for help scheduling an appointment. That's stupid.

Too bad you can say, he's already been vaccinated, but I could take that appointment.

Sounds like PA is like MN in regard to inefficient websites and phones.

The worst case I experienced was the year I applied for Obamacare and accidentally marked my part-time contract job an employer. They kept me employed, but they're not an official w2 employer. If they were, they'd probably have to be involved in my Obamacare in some way, and avoiding that was the very reason the company had so many contract workers. The website lets you change your current status, but not something from the past. I tried calling, got through fairly quickly to a guy who he had no idea how to resolve the issue but would transfer me to the appropriate department. After sitting on hold for an hour I realized that for all I knew he had transferred me into oblivion. So I hung up. While deciding what to do next, I got court papers saying I had to settle my dispute with the contract company through court. I called the court number and tried to tell that person I'M NOT DISPUTING THEIR ACCOUNT -- WE'RE ON THE SAME SIDE. The guy said he couldn't cancel the court thing anyway!!! Finally they did cancel it. But only after wasting that much time and money by making it essential impossible to correct errors on the state site.

Plus the website is so poorly arranged I could have done a better job mysel -- not with the technical parts, but with the writing. For example, it asks whether you're a Native American, whether you're Black, and so on. Instead of having things you could check, you had to get a dropdown menu for each one and answer "yes" or "no."

Plus the gender question only gave two options, which is so 20th century.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Too bad you can say, he's already been vaccinated, but I could take that appointment.

As a matter of fact, on Friday I tried to register for the Lancaster County mass-vaccination site, and I was successful. To my surprise, on Saturday I got an e-mail that said I could schedule an appointment! I tried to do it online, but it didn't work. I more-than-half suspect there is a problem because the same e-mail address is used for my dad and for me.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Last evening there was a report on our local NBC affiliate that over in Camden County, New Jersey, vaccination appointments already stretch all the way into October.

[serious crayons]

Then I feel lucky -- mine is today, at my regular clinic, 15 minutes away. I know a number of people who have traveled to other parts of the state, 100+ miles, to get theirs.

[CellarDweller]

As a matter of fact, on Friday I tried to register for the Lancaster County mass-vaccination site, and I was successful. To my surprise, on Saturday I got an e-mail that said I could schedule an appointment! I tried to do it online, but it didn't work. I more-than-half suspect there is a problem because the same e-mail address is used for my dad and for me.

I'm sure that's what happened, because it happened with my dad.  He tried to have a friend register my mom, but the friend registered my dad with my mom's email address, so when I tried to register mom with her email, I got an error message.  I had to register my mom with my dad's email, and then it went through.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I'm sure that's what happened, because it happened with my dad.  He tried to have a friend register my mom, but the friend registered my dad with my mom's email address, so when I tried to register mom with her email, I got an error message.  I had to register my mom with my dad's email, and then it went through.

Of course, when my dad's visiting nurse registered him, she used my e-mail address because my dad doesn't have e-mail. The the odd thing here is that I used my e-mail address to submit the registration, and then I got the e-mail, at my address, that said I was eligible to schedule an appointment. When I tried to schedule an appointment, I verified my date of birth, and then the message I got was that there are no vaccination sites within 100 miles of my dad's address!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Well, that was kind of unexpected. I got my first Covid shot at a Walgreens after work this afternoon.

A couple of weeks ago, a neighbor (older and fully vaccinated) suggested trying a Walgreens later in the day to ask if they had any "leftovers." This afternoon I finally got up the nerve to try it. I went to a smaller, kind of out-of-the-way Walgreens and asked if they had any leftovers from today. The pharmacist never answered the question, but he said, "Would you like to get your shot now?"

(Well, duh. ...)

It's the Pfizer, so I go back on the 28th for the second shot.

No more dealing with websites that don't work, phone calls that don't go through, or waiting on the City. That is such a relief!

[CellarDweller]

Great news!  Congrats on that first vax!!!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Great news!  Congrats on that first vax!!!

Thanks. 

[serious crayons]

I got my first yesterday, too.

I realized when I got there that when I reached a human on the phone last week, I should have made an appointment for my son, too -- he goes to the same clinic and there were several openings. I told the nurses that when I called last Thursday it took me 24 tries and I couldn't even get through to be put on hold. They said they couldn't even use their own office phones then and had to call out using personal cells.

So I told the nurse my son was also a patient at the clinic, she looked him up, wrote down his phone number and said that if she remembers, she'll call him this morning to set an appointment.

Just as I finished typing the sentence above, she called! She had an appointment available for next week. Unfortunately, my son will be in Phoenix for a friend's wedding at the time of the second shot, so he'll have to try again.

I'll recommend your method, Jeff!