Health departments say they’re beginning to run into people trying to game the system to get their COVID vaccine sooner. There have been problems reported
Bronson Healhcare opens four vaccine clinics for adults 65+(courtesy of Bronson Healthcare)
MT. PLEASANT, MI (WKZO AM/FM) Some people have been posting links to their COVID-19 vaccine registrations on Facebook pages and other social media sites. Michigan health officials say it has led to problems at two vaccination sites in Michigan, including Kalamazoo and Isabella counties.
Earlier this week, the Central Michigan District Health Department told WKAR about 25 people who were waiting in line to get their COVID-19 vaccination in Isabella County were turned away even though they thought they had properly signed up. It turns out that they had found a registration link on Facebook and signed up there, thinking they were all set.
What that s meant for Steve Hall, health officer at the Central Michigan District Health Department, is having to continually “shift on the fly.”
For example, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that residents 65 and older would become eligible to get their shots, Hall learned that his department would stop receiving Moderna shipments.
So, he put in an order for Pfizer doses, but without having secured access to the necessary cold freezer storage.
“Thankfully we have a great relationship with [Central Michigan University] and they offered up [their ultra-cold freezer], so we certainly took them up on that offer,” he said.
Other rural health officials agree that being responsive and looking for local support will guide them though the uncertainty.