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Vaccine rollout 'bogged down' as frustrated people book multiple appointments

The Duval County Health Department is asking patients not to book multiple appointments, as phone and car lines frustrate people seeking COVID-19 vaccine.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Editor's note: The video above is from Wednesday.

People frustrated and confused by the expansion of COVID-19 vaccine availability are bogging down the scheduling system in Duval County by booking multiple appointments.

According to a spokesperson for the Duval County Department of Health, scheduling multiple appointments slows the system and may mean others won't be able to make an appointment.

Duval County began expanding vaccines Wednesday to medical care providers who don’t work in a hospital and people 65 and older. They urged people to call to book an appointment, but phone lines were inoperable much of the day, with some people dialing hundreds of time trying to get through.

The county rolled out an online booking system Thursday night, but it too had issues, with some people receiving error messages even when appointments appeared to be available. Most if available appointments were quickly taken.

According to the Duval County Health Department, these are the steps you need to follow in order to make sure your appointment has been scheduled properly through Duval County's online appointment system:

  • Be sure to select a date and time before you submit your form.
  • If there is not a date/time slot available on the form, do not submit the form. If you submit the form without a date/time slot, the form will be deleted, and you will not have an appointment.
  • You will see a confirmation message after the appointment is set. You WILL NOT receive a confirmation email. Please take a screenshot of the confirmation message to keep for your records.
  • Additional appointments will become available through the online form beginning next week.

"We understand there are some questions and concerns about the online appointment system," said Duval County Public Health Communications Director Samantha Epstein in an email. "We would like to thank the community for its patience as we continue to work on making this process more efficient."

If you need to schedule an appointment beginning next week, click here to do so online.

St. Johns County has also seen an overwhelming response to its vaccine expansion. Phone lines were quickly overloaded, and in turn the local Health Department urged people to simply show up to be vaccinated. That led to mile-long lines of cars Thursday and Friday. Some people told First Coast News they were turned away despite having an appointment.

RELATED: No appointment needed for 65 and older to receive COVID-19 vaccine in St. Johns County

RELATED: County-by-County: Where people 65 and older can get a COVID-19 vaccine on the First Coast

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