5 tips to get your COVID-19 vaccine consultation

SANTO ANTÓNIO – With every Texan aged 16 or older eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine starting on Monday, the race for vaccination appointments is about to become much more competitive.

So, how can you maximize your chances of getting a spot?

KSAT 12 talked to two women who spent their free time helping to get more than 1,400 people among them to sign up for vaccination appointments.

They offer the following tips for getting your own appointment.

Large vaccination sites, like Alamodome or WellMed clinics, can be useful, but they should not be the end point of your research. Lisa Holguin and Karen James recommend that you also check with providers that have fewer doses per location.

“I would recommend looking at local pharmacies. Many of them are leaving, ”said Holguin, who has signed up at least 420 people so far.

James, who has signed up more than 1,000 people so far, said she mainly clings to HEB and Walmart. These two, along with CVS Pharmacy, are poised to be major vaccine suppliers in the coming weeks, although they do not have the same profile as the largest sites.

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KSAT has compiled information on some of the largest suppliers in the San Antonio area ON HERE, although it is not a complete list.

Enjoy all the benefits you can by signing up to receive text, email or smartphone alerts that you find.

For providers that do not have alert options, such as HEB or Walmart, check their websites frequently. Appointments can show up throughout the day, and checking at unusual times can also help.

“Where I get the most time – most people, I must say – is early in the morning, from 2 am to 4 am,” said James. “I’m like killing people right and left.”

If you find a vaccine supplier with a waiting list, apply too. Although you may want to use this as a backup plan while you keep looking for something sooner.

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Here are some of the places to sign up for notifications or check for updates.

• COSA text notifications – send “vaccine” to 55,000 for updates on appointments through the four main vaccination providers: the city of San Antonio (in Alamodome), WellMed, UT Health and University Health (in Wonderland of the Americas).

• UH Go Mobile App – University Health has its own smartphone app that provides an alert for new appointments.
• UH Email updates – University Health says you can also sign up for email notifications via its Health Focus SA blog.

• Day off – Holguin says that there are several channels in the Slack app, which is available for smartphones and computers, that provide information about new appointments. You can find the channels by searching for “Texas Vaccine Updates”.

• CVS – Check availability on your website.
• HEB – Check availability on your website.
• WalMart – Check availability on your website.
• UT Health – Check availability on your website.
• DSHS – The State Department of Health Services website lists the state’s weekly vaccine allocations, which can help you make some grounded assumptions about where new consultations may arise. However, it does not appear to be up to date with allocations that go directly to local pharmacies through a separate federal program.

The vast majority of vaccine providers offer consultations only one at a time, usually through online registration. So, without extremely fast typing and a decent amount of luck, you will have trouble getting multiple appointments at the same time and location.

“That’s what I tell people when they call me and are a husband or wife – I always say to them, ‘I will try to bring you together. But at this point, it’s pretty much everything you can get, ‘”said Holguin.

The only exception to several applications that Holguin and James are familiar with was WellMed, which has two vaccination sites in the city. A WellMed spokesman confirmed that they will allow four or five members of the same family to register by phone.

However, WellMed also has a reputation for being a notoriously frustrating way to get an appointment. Since he channels all subscriptions through his phone system, he can receive hundreds of calls before you’re done – if he can. Therefore, you may not want to put all your eggs in that basket.

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This applies to the time, place and type of vaccination. The more flexible you are, the more opportunities you will have.

James said that she sent people to Austin, Pearsall and even Brownsville – although that particular person had family there.

“The farther you are willing to go, the better. If you’re trying to count on getting something in San Antonio, you’ll be waiting, ”said James.

However, if you have limitations – whether it’s transportation problems, a difficult work schedule, or a doctor recommending that you only follow a certain type of vaccination – the next piece of advice will be twice as useful.

There are still a few doses left in Texas. Therefore, it is likely that you will have to wait some time before you are vaccinated.

Holguin informs you that you expect to spend two to three hours looking for an appointment. Although she and James managed to make several appointments a day, they also know the different systems.

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“If this is your first time looking, you will probably spend a few days – two or three days – looking and getting familiar with the system and seeing where you can actually get one,” said Holguin. “And you will start to notice which places are – you will miss some, you know, but you will say, ‘OK, they seem to launch a lot from this store.”

But when you find a place that works for you, grab it. Because it is guaranteed that someone else will also do this.

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