Still, the new tool falls far short of the easy registration procedures offered in other states; Massachusetts residents, for example, must still browse to individual vaccination providers, where they can register and make an appointment, instead of registering through a central scheduling tool.
“It’s certainly better than before,” said Senator Eric Lesser, a Democrat from Longmeadow who sponsored legislation to update the state’s online registration system, “but it would be very difficult to go anywhere other than up.”
The new Massachusetts website is still a work in progress. It shows, for example, consultations available only at large-scale vaccination sites, such as Fenway Park, and locations operated by local health departments.
State officials said they are working to incorporate appointment data from other locations, such as pharmacies, but note that there is no easy way to automatically update information from a myriad of other locations.
The state’s new website is just the latest adjustment made by the Baker government in managing the implementation of the vaccination effort in the face of huge demand and confusion. In order to reduce the risk of wasting injections that have a short lifespan after being thawed, the state abruptly this week allowed people under 75 to receive the vaccination if they accompanied an elderly person eligible for a vaccination appointment.
Also on Friday, the Baker administration reported that inoculations of COVID-19 had exceeded the 1 million mark. But the virus continues to claim a large number of victims, as the number of people who died has exceeded 15,000, officials said on Friday.
The state launched the Vaxfinder website after a barrage of complaints that its original website was confusing and difficult to use. Independent software developers stepped in to build alternative sites at their own expense. One called VaccinateMA was created by Zane Stiles, a private equity analyst at Bain Capital. Stiles uses an alternative solution to obtain the updated schedule of private vaccination sites: the volunteers he recruited are contacting them directly by phone and entering the information.
And a software developer at athenahealth technology company who is on maternity leave, Olivia Adams, drew national attention for building another rival website, macovidvaccines.com.
Adams said he met with several Massachusetts officials this week to discuss his efforts. Officials told her that the state had hired a computer supplier to make the new website “a while ago” and did not ask for her help. “I didn’t have any input, actually,” said Adams.
After reviewing the Vaxfinder tool, Adams said: “I think it is an improvement for the state, but I don’t think it is more functional than my website today.”
Massachusetts is not the only state where citizen volunteers have created easier to use vaccine sites. The VaccinateMA built by Stiles was inspired by a similar private effort in California, VaccinateCA. And several individuals and organizations in the state of New York have set up alternative vaccine locators.
But in some states, like West Virginia, none of this is necessary. There, for example, residents fill out a form on a state website to be placed on the vaccine waiting list. People are notified by email, phone or text message when a dose is available at a nearby location.
Anyone unable to attend the suggested date is placed on the waiting list again. People without Internet access can call a toll-free number to make an appointment.
During a briefing on the new Massachusetts website on Friday, officials have not pledged to offer a centralized application, but said further improvements to the site are coming.
In contrast, the legislation introduced by Lesser and others would require the state to establish a central online portal where people could apply for a vaccination by filling out a single form. Lesser said that Governor Charlie Baker has the authority to build a central portal, but that if he does not, “we will force him by law”.
The Vaxfinder tool has information for users to determine if they are currently eligible for the vaccine, and translation services are available by clicking on the Select Language icon at the top of the page. Vaxfinder will also be accessible on mobile devices, officials said.
The website provides additional detailed information about each vaccination site, including entry and parking instructions, accessibility accommodations, the type of vaccine offered and public transport options.
The state also launched a 211 hotline for vaccine reservations this week, especially for residents 75 and older who have difficulty scheduling an appointment online. But call center 211 is only available from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, said that these limitations make it more difficult for the elderly and people in poor communities to use the call center.
“The state did not start working on this so-called 211 line until the end of the launch that we were really behind the eight ball,” said Pavlos.
Hiawatha Bray can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeTechLab. Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.