The failure that allowed 7,200 utahns who did not qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine to make an appointment over the weekend was caused by an error in the design of the site created by officials from the state’s Department of Technology Services, a spokeswoman said. DTS on Monday.
This failure gave credence to rumors that started circulating on Friday that the state was having trouble filling queries and expanding access, as the site allowed people to register, despite their admissions that they did not have them. health conditions required or were not old enough to meet current criteria.
“Our logic was – there must be those basic safeguards in place to ensure that people who shouldn’t be registered can’t,” said Dustin Wolters, 38, of Riverton, who signed up believing the vaccine would potentially go to waste. “It is very frustrating that they missed a very basic stage. … It is a big mistake. “
[Read more: Utahns sought COVID-19 vaccine in good faith. But their slots were a state mistake, and they feel vilified.]
The system at vaccinate.utah.gov is a new website created by the Department of Technology Services and MTX Group, Inc., said Tom Hudachko, communications director for the Utah Department of Health.
Users are asked whether they meet current vaccine eligibility requirements, Hudachko said. Over the weekend, Utahns who answered “yes” and “no” were sent to the scheduling system to make an appointment, he said.
Those who answered “no” should be taken to a page explaining that they are not eligible and informed that they should check back later, Hudachko said.
“The project’s flaw was that people who scored ‘no’ in the eligibility question were able to schedule appointments,” said Stephanie Weteling, DTS public information officer, by email.
The state project was implemented by the MTX Group, she said, and the state has updated its project. There is no further investigation underway on the error, she added. Weteling clarified that “the project failure was made by the State, and not by MTX”.
The state hired MTX Group for $ 343,000 to build the site, according to the contract.
The goal was to help smaller health departments that may have struggled to create an online registration system, Hudachko said. Salt Lake County started using it at the end of last week, and San Juan County is the only other county that currently uses it.
All 7,200 consultations for people who responded that they did not meet current vaccination requirements have been canceled, Hudachko said.
Here’s how state and city officials became aware of the flaw and the timeline for their response.
A warning sign on Friday night
Salt Lake County began using the new system late last week, said Gabe Moreno, a spokesman for the county health department.
The office of Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson learned that there was a potential problem on Friday night, according to Chloe Morroni, county communications director, in a statement on Monday.
State officials at the Department of Technology Services also noted on Friday that large numbers of people who scored “no” on the eligibility question were able to schedule appointments, Hudachko said.
In Utah, anyone aged 65 or over, and anyone aged 16 or over with certain serious or chronic medical conditions, is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine – as well as teachers, health professionals, first responders and residents and staff long-term care facilities. The state is using the honor system and asking Utahns who do not have the specific health conditions on the state’s list not to seek medical advice.
Wilson “immediately started troubleshooting” on Friday, Morroni said, and on Saturday morning “it was clear that there was indeed a failure”.
The social and technical response
The mayor began work on the problem with Jill Miller, co-director of the mass vaccination branch in Salt Lake County, and Gary Edwards, executive director of the Salt Lake County Department of Health.
The county’s IT staff “was contacted and immediately started addressing the fault with the state,” said Morroni.
DTS started working with Salt Lake County in what was initially conceived as a temporary solution, said Weteling, which would allow only “individuals with a Salt Lake County registration code to access the system”. Users would have to obtain the code from the Salt Lake County website, where they would have to verify their age and certify their qualified health status and then use the code on the state’s nomination website.
Wilson “involved his communications team to help with the messages,” which he posted on social media about who qualified for a vaccine, Morroni said.
Pressure from the county’s social media to clarify that the vaccine’s eligibility had not changed only started after noon and initially failed to reference or explain the flaw in the site that was allowing unqualified residents to consult.
At 1:25 pm on Saturday, Wilson tweeted: “Today there is confusion about the eligibility criteria for vaccines. Salt Lake County has confirmed that the eligibility announced by the governor on Thursday remains in effect. Those over 65 are eligible, and those between 16 and 64 with qualifying medical conditions are eligible. “
Shortly after 2:00 pm, the Salt Lake County government and health department accounts retweeted Wilson, once again reminding residents of eligibility and qualification conditions.
The communications office of the Salt Lake County Health Department regularly monitors online conversations to see if there are rumors circulating that need to be resolved, said Moreno.
After being notified of the failure of the mayor’s office earlier, Moreno said he saw a tweet posted at 4:15 pm on Saturday with “false information” assigned to an emergency room physician at the University of Utah.
The tweet “did not come from any of our official accounts. We are investigating this, ”said University of Utah Health spokeswoman Kathy Wilets on Monday.
dark skinned quoted that incorrect tweet from the Salt Lake County Department of Health account, saying: “Please avoid making appointments if you do not have a qualifying medical condition. Those who really thought they were eligible for an appointment without a qualifying medical condition, we ask that you cancel that appointment so that those at risk can access the appointments. “
By Saturday afternoon, state technology services officials had already implemented the solution that required codes to make inquiries.
After 6 pm, the Utah Department of Health issued a statement explaining that there was an error on the website.
And on Saturday night, there was a permanent solution; vaccinate.utah.gov now requires users to certify their eligibility status before signing up for an account to schedule an appointment.
The Salt Lake County system, which provides registration codes for scheduling appointments, has also become permanent, said Moreno. “The state was very sensitive and the situation was corrected,” said Morroni.
She said the mayor’s office received some calls about the fault, and the county health department also received calls from residents. Some residents told The Salt Lake Tribune that the lines were congested and they were unable to contact the department on Saturday.
How to avoid future confusion
If Utahns see vaccine rumors or become confused about who is eligible, they should check the Utah Department of Health website at https://coronavirus.utah.gov/vaccine for the latest information, Hudachko and Moreno said.
Hudachko said he believed that the “vast majority” of people who made an appointment on Saturday answered the questions honestly and thought they could apply.
About 1,000 people canceled appointments on their own between Saturday night and Sunday morning, leaving the Department of Health to send 6,200 notices to people that their appointments were canceled, Hudachko said.
The emails sent included a phone number for people to call if they had their appointment canceled, but thought they were eligible, he said.
According to Hudachko, there were 44 cancellations in San Juan County and the rest in Salt Lake County.