As a 72-year-old Oregon resident, I became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on February 22, along with thousands of people in my age group. Since then, I have spent many hours trying to get an appointment for the vaccine on the Oregon Health Authority website. The website is broken, as confirmed by The Oregonian / OregonLive (“COVID vaccine schedules open to people aged 65 and over on Monday: tips and troubleshooting”, February 28) and other news outlets.
Despite the flaw in the system, the governor and other public health leaders announced that Oregon residents age 45 and older with underlying illnesses could receive the COVID-19 vaccine on March 29. Is it asking for this before the vaccine is opened to additional groups, the system the state uses to get those appointments fixed, instead of adding thousands of eligible Oregonians who are sure to overwhelm a broken website? Oregon’s failure to manage vaccines is frustrating and dangerous. There is no acceptable excuse for this.
Mary Gorretta, Milwaukie
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