The NJ vaccine hotline is temporarily suspending appointment appointments for COVID vaccines, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said at the governor’s coronavirus meeting on Wednesday.
Representatives will also receive new training, she said.
“Starting last night, we put a temporary pause on the call center’s ability to make commitments,” said Persichilli. “We found that we needed to simplify the system at the agent’s end and also offer additional training for agents.”
Callers frustrated on the hotline told NJ Advance Media that they received confusing information from the hotline representatives, including that they could not make an appointment over the phone or that they were not eligible even though they were in a qualified group. Others were told they needed to use the New Jersey Vaccine Scheduling System (NJVSS) link to get a date or that the system was down.
Persichilli said, in general, “the training will be on the use of the system”, with some training on registering people “but more training on scheduling appointments”.
“We were discovering that it was not as easy as we thought it would be. It ended up with things like double booking, which is something we can’t have, ”she said, noting that the representatives are“ doing very well ”in the callers’ frequently asked questions.
The commissioner noted that the call center is new and the state knows “the areas where more training is needed”.
“The system itself had problems and we are talking directly to Microsoft, which is the supplier, almost every day to resolve these problems,” she said.
Governor Phil Murphy agreed that there were problems with the supplier.
“This remains a constant challenge. It looks like a step forward, two steps back with the supplier, ”said Murphy.
The governor also said that he is considering “increasing” the number of employees, which is now about 250 people.
The system can provide information and help people pre-register, said Persichilli.
The call center, which operates from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days a week, can be reached by calling (855) 568-0545.
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Statehouse reporter Matt Arco contributed to this report.
Karin Price Mueller can be contacted at [email protected].