Baptist’s COVID-19 vaccine website opens with issues but the most persistent get slots
On Friday morning, Baptist Health’s website to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments went live — but not without technical errors and glitches.
Baptist booked 13,000 appointments for those 65 and older as well as those who have certain existing conditions that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19, a group that was not included in other vaccine sign-ups across MiamiDade and Broward counties.
Instead of slots quickly filling up like they did elsewhere, Baptist’s site seemed to benefit those who kept trying. Sometimes, users would get an error message after clicking ‘Schedule Your Appointment’ on the hospital’s site.
Other times, users got to the page where they were able to schedule the appointment.
Andrea Strudwick, 36, of Davie, started checking the Baptist site early Friday morning to try and make an appointment for her grandmother and her stepfather. She said at first, she could get all the way to the end of the process but wasn’t able to confirm the appointment.
She got an error message: “We’re currently not accepting online bookings for this visit type.”
After periodically reloading the site, she was finally able to get a slot for her grandmother on Feb. 11 at the Hilton Miami Dadeland.
Baptist spokeswoman Georgi Pipkin wrote in an email that the scheduling link went live “shortly before” 9 a.m.
“With overwhelming volume to our online appointment system, we experienced some delays, but all appointments were booked in approximately two hours,” Pipkin wrote.
Ronald Rodríguez, who was trying to book appointments for his elderly parents, said he was frustrated Baptist never advertised the opening time. He refreshed his browser repeatedly since 7 a.m., only to find an error message.
“This rollout has been one problem after another. I can’t imagine what elderly people who are not computer savvy are going through if they don’t have someone to help,” said Rodríguez, 41, of Pinecrest. “I’m just glad my parents are OK and I’m working from home so I can do this for them. But many others aren’t so lucky, and what? They just sit there waiting? It’s ridiculous.”
With a little web savvy and maneuvering, others had an easier time.
Alex Nostro, 32, of Miami said he was able to schedule eight of his elderly family members, in-laws and friends by putting them all in a group chat where they could share their information for him to input. He wanted to input more, but his luck ran out at 10 a.m.
“It’s been my hobby all week, figuring out these websites,” Nostro said.
He said while the Jackson Health sign-up Tuesday was easy and straightforward, the availability ran out quickly. The Tropical Park sign-up was a “huge mess,” he said. With Baptist, the link was broken almost immediately, but Nostro resolved the issue by using his computer history instead of hitting the
“back” button to retrieve the link.
“Each of the three services needed different information from people. No one who is 85 is able to navigate these on their own,” he said. “I am happy to do it. … It just takes a little tenacity.”
Baptist did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Miami Herald.
Baptist is administering both the Pfizer-BioNtech andModerna vaccines. There’s no cost to those who receive them since taxpayers foot the bill, and appointments begin Monday.
Pipkin said additional vaccination sites will open soon and more appointment times will become available as the hospital receives more vaccines. Vaccinations are by appointment only, with no walk-ups.