COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments Going Quickly As Oklahomans Rush To Sign Up

Oklahoma City residents over 65 got a brief chance to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning.

“They’ve been going very quickly,” Molly Flemming with Oklahoma City-County Health Department said.

Within a matter of minutes, 3,700 appointments Thursday and 1,300 Friday and Saturday were booked.

“We can only book appointments based on how much vaccines we have,” Flemming said. “We can’t schedule anything, we can’t even think about it, until we know how much vaccine we have coming.”

“There are a lot of questions out there,” Sean Voskuhl with AARP said.

He said for many seniors, the state’s online registration portal is difficult to navigate.

“I heard from a gentleman yesterday that went through the portal but was concerned about, ‘how do I get an appointment, I can’t get an appointment,’” Voskuhl said.

One major confusion, just because someone gets registered through the portal doesn’t mean they’re in line to get a vaccine. People still must wait for an email announcing available spots to then compete to get an appointment when they become available.

“The vaccination portal is up and running to sign up, but eligibility doesn’t guarantee you an appointment and that vaccine supply is dependent on availability in each county,” Voskuhl said.

AARP is holding a telephone and Facebook town hall Wednesday at 10 a.m. for seniors with questions about how to get an appointment.

Voskuhl said he has a few questions of his own.

"Is 211 going to be available for folks who have no other access no friends or neighbors that can help them to schedule an appointment?” He said. “We think there’s going to be progress in that area.”