More than 49,000 people made it onto Harris County’s new COVID-19 vaccination waiting list on Tuesday, despite technical problems that have reduced access for some to the county website.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s office said 49,287 people were able to apply by 4:30 pm.
Health officials said there was an “overwhelming number of people” trying to use ReadyHarris.org.
“It’s low. It fell. We’ve had to brake several times already,” said Martha Marquez, spokesman for Harris County Public Health on Tuesday.
The site launched on Tuesday afternoon, but quickly ran into trouble. The page describing the new program is available, but when users are going to sign up for the waiting list, some receive a “Site under maintenance“message. A telephone line for the program, (832) 927-8787, is also available. It usually has a busy tone when dialed.
The waiting list, a new approach announced on Monday, aims to ease the burden on residents by making them apply for the vaccine once, instead of struggling to apply whenever the agency announces the availability of new queries. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said access to the vaccine should not depend on the computer’s acumen.
The system should give priority to people, depending on which phase of the state distribution plan they fall into and their age. It will randomize the pool and select individuals for the appointment windows. These people would have 48 hours to claim their places.
“We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience,” wrote the health agency on Twitter.
This is a developing story and will be updated.