PHOENIX – Maricopa County officially moved to Phase 1B for vaccines against coronavirus and a mass vaccination site opened in Glendale on Monday, but the effort to vaccinate more Arizonans is not going smoothly.
At around 6 am on Monday, health officials in Maricopa County said their servers, despite having been updated to handle more site traffic, were unable to meet demand. Many people said they were unable to access the site and register for Phase 1B vaccinations due to the site being down.
CO️ The COVID-19 vaccine page is packed with people. Do not try to access the site before 6:40 am.
– Public Health (@Maricopahealth) January 11, 2021
At the same time, Arizonans started logging onto the Arizona Department of Health Services website to sign up for vaccine appointments at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which should be able to handle thousands of vaccines a day, since is fully up and running. However, due to the confusing messages, those who managed to register to be vaccinated did not see State Farm Stadium as an option.
RELATED: How to Apply for the COVID-19 Vaccine Phase 1B Group in Maricopa County
In addition, for those who can register, some may only see appointments as early as weeks in the future.
ADHS clarified late Monday morning that registration would be available from 9am on Monday for those in Phase 1B, and that scheduling times at State Farm Stadium would be available for Tuesday, January 12 and beyond.
To clarify, registration for the @AZDHS The State Farm Arena website opens at 9 am; Registration for @Maricopahealth it opened at 6am and they had problems with high volumes of traffic and the site was not available.
– AZ Department of Health (@AZDHS) January 11, 2021
Not everyone in Phase 1A has been vaccinated, so it is important to note that those included in 1A are still at the top of the priority list and may also be signing up for future consultations.
ABC15 reporters listened to viewers who raised other concerns as well, including the fact that the vaccination registration site was not compatible with mobile devices or tablets, forcing the public to use a laptop or desktop computer. ADHS said the problem was fixed just before 10am
Those who are unable to access a computer can register by phone, but some are already reporting long waiting periods on the phone, according to ABC15 news partner KTAR. Some are also reporting “busy” tones and messages that no one is available to help over the phone.
ADHS is asking those who are having problems with registration to keep trying as updates are made on the website.
Despite hours of trouble following the implementation of the vaccination registration link, ADHS says 10,000 people were able to register for appointments from 10am. The appointment times for Tuesday were available from 10:30 am.
Maricopa County says appointments at distribution points are fully scheduled for Monday, but they are working to add more vaccination sites. For the latest information on the Maricopa County Department’s COVID-19 vaccine, click here.
Information on vaccination against ADHS can be found here.