Shelby Kreidick, 74, has been trying to get her coronavirus vaccine for weeks.
The first calls she made were to UNC Health in Siler City, but she gave up when the UNC system’s automated prompts confused her.
Next, she tried the county health department.
“I pulled out my phone book and the number I found was for Pittsboro,” Kreidick said. “So, I called that number, and some lady — I don’t know who she was — she took my information. I explained that me and my husband are both in our 70s, and so we would like to get the COVID shot.”
The staffer told Kreidick about a mass vaccination clinic on the following Monday and said a health department representative would call back soon to schedule the couple’s appointments.
But that Monday came and went, and Kreidick says she never heard back.
“I thought, I guess I’ll call again to make sure I didn’t miss a call or anything,” Kreidick said. “So, I talked to a different lady and she said they don’t make appointments out of Pittsboro, I had to call Siler City, and she gave me a different number to call.”
To Kreidick’s dismay, the health department staffer who picked up the phone in Siler City informed her there was no record of Kreidicks in the system — they were not on the list to get a vaccine.
“But I could go to ‘www-dot whatever’ and get on the list,” Kreidick said. “Well, I’ve already been on every website I can find trying to register and making all the calls I possibly can call to find out when we can get on there to get our shot ... At this point I’m just kind of frustrated and I don’t know what to do, but I know a lot of people are.”
Kreidick is not alone. Many Chathamites have expressed similar difficulties amid the rush to schedule vaccinations, Chatham County Public Health Department representatives say.
“Our contact list has grown to more than 10,000 names, and we understand it is frustrating for folks wondering when they will be able to get the vaccine,” CCPHD Director Mike Zelek told the News + Record on Friday. “... Our staff has been very hard at work responding to these questions, and we receive many, many calls each day.”
Part of the challenge is inherent to the system. Scheduling appointments via phone means some people are temporarily passed over if they miss a return call.
“An issue we have run into is when we call to schedule appointments, not everyone answers the phone,” Zelek said. “We understand many do not answer calls from unknown numbers, but this can make it difficult to schedule appointments with those who have reached out to us.”
CCPHD will not strike people’s names from the list of interested persons should they neglect to pick up the phone. But Chatham residents’ chances of scheduling an appointment will be delayed.
“We will make every attempt to reach people on our list,” said CCPHD Communications Specialist Zachary Horner. “If they do not pick up when we call, we will come back to them until they schedule an appointment with us or tell us they’ve received the vaccine elsewhere. However, we will continue to call people to fill up our vaccination clinic schedules.”
UNC Health representatives are also aware of the difficulties many face in the wait for their shots, but they urge the public to endure.
“We recognize the frustration and confusion the process is causing people who want to get vaccinated but can’t get an appointment,” said Alan Wolf, UNC Health’s director of local news and issues. “... Vaccine supplies are very limited, and at UNC Health our appointments are scheduled each week based on the vaccine received from the state.”
Unlike the county health department, which keeps a master list of interested people, UNC does not offer a wait list. People interested in getting the vaccine must keep calling back or schedule an appointment online.
“We urge anyone who is eligible to continue checking back on our vaccine website, YourShot.org,” Wolf said. “As we get additional allocations of vaccines, we post appointments there. We ask for patience as we are receiving a very high number of phone calls and emails."
Experiences like Kreidick’s have been exacerbated by a shortage of vaccines — in Chatham County and statewide. For many weeks, North Carolina was rated among the least efficient vaccine distributors in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This week, UNC Health will have fewer than 8,000 available doses, “far fewer than we expected,” Wolf said.
But North Carolina has improved its standing among the 50 states. As of Thursday, North Carolina had risen to number 12 in the country for vaccines administered per 100,000 residents from number 40 a week earlier, as first reported by The Charlotte Observer.
While UNC Heath has not received as many shots as anticipated, CCPHD is seeing an uptick in its allotment.
“Through January 25th, the CCPHD had administered more than 1,300 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine through appointments at its Siler City clinic, multiple mobile clinics and two mass vaccination events at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center in Pittsboro,” a CCPHD press release announced on Friday.
In the next three weeks, the county expects to administer nearly as many doses — at least 1,000 — following assurances from the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services that vaccines will arrive with more frequency moving forward.
“This week, NCDHHS informed providers of base allocations they will receive each week for the next three weeks,” the press release said. “The CCPHD is slated to receive a weekly base allocation of 200 first doses over the next three weeks.”
An additional 200 are expected to arrive next week as part of a NCDHHS program “to promote equitable access to vaccines across the state, including among historically-marginalized populations.”
To distribute those vaccines, a special event in partnership with a faith community will be scheduled. CCPHD is expected to release more details next week.
On Monday, the county will administer 210 shots during a third mass vaccination event at the Agriculture & Conference Center. Vaccinations are by appointment only and will be given between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
To schedule an appointment with CCPHD, visit www.chathamnc.org/vaccinetool or call 919-545-8323.
UNC Health is offering COVID-19 vaccination at locations around the state including a site behind Chatham Hospital in Siler City and nearby in Chapel Hill. Interested individuals can visit www.unchealthcare.org/schedule or call (984) 215-5485 to schedule an appointment when available.
Duke Health, based in Durham, is also scheduling vaccinations when available. To learn more, visit https://www.dukehealth.org/covid-19-update/covid-19-vaccine-update or call (919) 385-0429.
For a full list of options in North Carolina, visit https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/findyourspot.
Reporter D. Lars Dolder can be reached at dldolder@chathamnr.com and on Twitter @dldolder.