Miami-based Jackson Health's online portal for COVID-19 vaccine signups opened about two hours early on Jan. 5, resulting in 12,000 appointments getting snapped up by the time the site was originally supposed to launch, according to WPLG.
The health system was supposed to open the online portal to people ages 65 and older at 11 a.m. on Jan. 5, but instead the site went live at 9 a.m. Jackson Health had 12,000 appointments available, but some people who secured time slots were turned away after they ran out of necessary resources to give the vaccines, the station reports.
Elizabeth Perez, who made an appointment for her grandmother, told the station that Jackson Health said there had been a computer glitch and they had overbooked for the day.
Jackson Health CEO Carols Migoya said the system can accommodate 2,000 appointments per day, and the health system is not scheduling appointments unless "they have a vaccine for those appointments."
“Jackson launched its online COVID vaccine registration portal this morning for anyone over age 65 and, as expected, the slots filled up quickly in less than two hours," the health system said in a statement Jan. 5. "We realize this vaccine is in high demand, and we will continue to open more slots as we receive additional vaccines. … As we navigate through this unprecedented, logistically complex vaccine distribution, Jackson’s top priority is inoculating as many eligible people in our community as we can."