| Delaware News Journal
Delaware Seniors Flock to Mass Vaccination Event
Hundreds in phase 1B line up to receive the COVID vaccine in the Delaware City DMV Friday
John J. Jankowski Jr., special for The News Journal
Bonnie and Bob Siley followed the instructions. They registered online to be vaccinated, filled out all the forms and waited for the time.
Bob, 83, has cancer and is a higher priority than his wife, so he was among the 11,500 seniors selected to be vaccinated at state events this weekend in Delaware and Georgetown.
The Sileys received a response from the state that Bob was approved for an appointment, and they scheduled one for Saturday, from 11 am to 11:30 am, at the Delaware City Motor Vehicles Division.
They left their home in the Wilmington suburb at 10:15 am on Saturday and returned shortly before 2:00 pm.
They never came close to entering the DMV grounds, close to where Route 1 meets Route 72 and Wrangle Hill Road.
“It was a nightmare,” said Bonnie, 80.
She said that they moved about 150 feet while waiting for more than 1 ½ hours. With no idea how long it would take to get close to the DMV, they decided to leave.
“Thank goodness we got off the line,” Bonnie said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Bonnie said she spoke to another friend who had an appointment between 11:30 and noon that also left before being vaccinated.
Evan Winslow’s grandfather too.
Winslow said his father and grandfather also had an appointment between 11:30 am and noon. He said he had heard of someone else who was scheduled for 9am and didn’t reach the front line before 1:30 pm
Not sure how long it would take them to get ahead, they decided to leave, although they would be back later.
In a Facebook post after 2 pm, the Department of Health and Social Services said: “If you have an appointment, you will receive a vaccine today, so stay in line if you can. We apologize for the delay caused by technical problems.”
Public Health Division spokeswoman Jen Brestel said in an email: “For those who have an appointment on Saturday and Sunday, it is important that you fill in the medical history data in the VAMS account you created so that you do not need to be added to the vaccination event. Use the username and password you created to book the appointment to return to VAMS and add Medical History information before arriving at the vaccination event. “
The state planned to vaccinate 11,500 older adults and 2,000 phase 1A health workers this weekend in Delaware and Georgetown. Vaccinations were made only by appointment. Traffic near Georgetown’s DMV was intense in the area of Route 113 and South Bedford Street / Shortly Road, where long lines of people waited.
The Georgetown facility had a capacity of about 400 cars on the DMV property, said a Delaware Department of Transportation official. People at that facility reported waiting times of three hours on Facebook.
Tens of thousands of Delawareans in phase 1B signed up this week to be vaccinated through the state’s online system. Of that group, 11,500 were selected based on the priority for this weekend’s event. On Friday, 500 people were vaccinated at the Delaware City DMV, and thousands more are due to be vaccinated on Saturday and Sunday at both locations.
For some, the long wait was expected.
Elizabeth Monaghan, a former emergency medical nurse, said she and her husband were waiting a long day to be vaccinated in Georgetown.
“We have friends like us in many other states who have no hope of a vaccine any time soon,” she wrote by email.
Monaghan said that while “there is always room for improvement”, people – volunteers, public health officials, first responders – should be commended.
“Finally, in the waiting area for a short 15 minutes to wait for any immediate unexpected reaction … we look at each other grateful that we were lucky to get to this point after 10 long months,” she said.
“What should be remembered is that we are all in this mess together. Patience and understanding for the tasks at hand are necessary. Along with kindness – deep breaths also help – it will help us overcome this.”
Monaghan said the round trip time is about three hours.
Others in Delaware City have experienced longer waits.
Like the Sileys, another Hockessin couple left home around 10 am for their 11 am meeting. The couple, who declined to be named, spoke to Delaware Online / The News Journal by cell phone at about 3 pm and said the car’s travel odometer had not yet reached 15 miles. They were on Route 1 south stopped in traffic for about five hours.
“I have never, ever seen traffic like this in Delaware,” said the 77-year-old. “This is absolutely abysmal.”
But, unlike the Sileys, the couple said they would wait.
“We need these vaccines,” said the man, because his wife has latent health problems.
They also pre-registered online and received scheduling confirmations.
“We did everything right,” said the 73-year-old woman.
The couple phoned the police in an effort to control traffic. They were concerned that some elderly people could not wait in the long lines without access to a bathroom or food.
The photo gallery below is from the Friday night event. The story continues afterwards
They later called The News Journal after being vaccinated at 5:15 pm, seven hours after leaving their home in Hockessin. As soon as they entered the DMV complex, they said it was much more organized.
“We heard these Florida horror stores, but we never thought we were going to have that kind of thing in Delaware,” said the man.
What’s worse, Bonnie Siley said, is that people being vaccinated this weekend need to get a second injection in a matter of weeks.
“Are you going to go back to this line like that?”
After leaving without her husband receiving an injection, she said they would instead try to get vaccinated at a pharmacy.
“I am very frustrated and disappointed,” she said.
Shannon Marvel McNaught contributed to this story.
Contact Jeff Neiburg at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.