Getting My Rona Vaccine. Essex County

I think the total NJ population who got the first dose is around 5.5%.


My spouse and I signed up weeks ago to volunteer.  We almost immediately got an email back to provide more info (which was mostly the same info we had already provided.)  But we haven't heard a thing since then.  Any of you who have already volunteered ... should we try again or just wait?


jamie said:

Here's some data I found

Essex county administered 44,887 doses for a population of 800,000 = 5.61% 

Hunterdon county administered 8,575 for a population of 125,000 = 6.86%

Looks like the distribution is pretty fairly based on population.  Running out of vaccine show that we're able to at least keep pace - hopefully kinks in the supply chain will improve over time.

Vaccine info can be found here: https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/covid2019_dashboard.shtml

 I’m not doubting that.  My issue is Joe D falsely claiming that Essex county has done a better job than any other county, and then people just taking his PR spin as fact.


And Sbenois has repeatedly denied ongoing  issues with the confirmations.  He claims there were only issues early on and that JerseyJack’s experience was an anomaly that was quickly fixed even though people are STILL reporting the issues.   People are not receiving the confirmation emails, he is telling them to not show up if they don’t receive the confirmation.  Meanwhile others are reporting that at the Sears site multiple people who have appointments are not showing up.  Don’t you think that maybe the missing confirmation emails, which Sbenois claims is no longer an issue, just might have something to do with that.

Good intentions aren’t enough, especially when he is telling people who successfully signed up to not show up on the date of their appointment if they didn’t receive the confirmation email.



sbenois said:

berkeley said:

The whole thing is so complicated and frustrating. It could be worse for sure.

The people (volunteers and staff) at Livingston tried to help me find my high risk family members appointment but were not able to provide any information beyond the fact that the person was showing as "pending." They spent time on the computer site but that's all they were able to come up with.

The call bank person, using name, cell phone and email address, was able to locate the record for the second vaccine only. Which led her to realize that we had registered correctly and she was able to give us a date for the first vaccine.

My point is--the call center has access to some good info and if the person who answers isn't able to help, there is a manager that seems to really understand the system.

 This is correct.  I just spoke to someone in the call center who confirmed that there was a systems issue impacting appointments primarily for this week.  Resolution requires calling the service center as above.   Your second shot will be adjusted accordingly if needed.   

This is one of four reasons for no shows that I am aware of, the others are:

- People registering with multiple email addresses for whatever reason and not using them

- People registering for the shot and then changing their minds without cancelling their appointments

- People registering for the shot and then getting it elsewhere (such as doctors) and then not cancelling their appointments.

 For those of you who like to sit at your keyboard and spout ****.   

Some of us are trying to help people, others are useless.


I had a problem. A relative had a problem.

Sbenois helped us solve those problems.

Was it frustrating? Of course. So was dealing with the Affordable Care Act at the beginning. So is dealing with every large institution, public or private. I have been trying for three months to get an answer to an inquiry from Bank of America and they have been in business 100 years and make a profit in the billions.

I would like to than those like Sbenois and Robert Roe who would rather "Light a candle, than curse the darkness"


I just got my confirmation email with a date and time for the first and second dose of vaccine at Sears.  Thank you everyone for the helpful information and hand holding.  Here is hoping that we can all get vaccinated at the earliest possible moment.


Some updates...

1) I've made some suggestions to the people at the customer service center to try and make this easier for everyone, including them:

- Consider putting a lookup function in place so that people can put in their email address/phone number and get a validation text, which would result in them then being able to go to the website to validate that their info is on file and the status

- Put information on the submission page which reminds people to please come back and cancel their appoinment if they have decided to not take the shot or got it elsewhere.  Same with multiple submissions using different email addresses.

- Add dialogue to the web page that shows the exact process and the timeline involved from submission through vaccination, including when people  can expect any notifications of approved appointments.

2) From what I see, apppointments/slots are posted at roughly 8:05am Monday thru Saturday.  The current earliest date (holding aside stray ones that show up when someone cancels) is 2/25.  2/26 is tomorrow.  If you want an appointment, I would start checking at 7:45am just to be sure.  

3) If you were on the website early this am, you know that it was running at capacity +++.  If you submitted a vaccination request for 2/25 and did not get an email or text today, I would suggest that you try to reenter the info **now*** using the same email address.  If the system comes back with a message indicating that your email address was already used, then you are in the system...but you should call the service center and ensure that they got it and see if they can send you the email/text for your records.  If it is not found, definitely call the service center and ask them to confirm if anything is on file.  If they don't see you, then you were probably shut out and need to start again tomorrow am.

4) Due to the overwhelming demand, they are going to start looking for evidence that people who indicate that they work in Essex but don't live here are telling the truth.  So don't tell your friends to do this or they are going to be very disappointed when they arrive and are denied the vaccine.

**Edited to add that I am extremely impressed with their willingness to constantly work on improving the overall process.     When you go to any of the sites, do take the time to find the people who work in the Essex County Health Department and thank them for their exceptional efforts.

 


joan_crystal said:

I just got my confirmation email with a date and time for the first and second dose of vaccine at Sears.  Thank you everyone for the helpful information and hand holding.  Here is hoping that we can all get vaccinated at the earliest possible moment.

 What date did you get?  Did they pull it in?


sbenois said:

 What date did you get?  Did they pull it in?

 2/13 for the 1st dose. 3.13 for the second dose.  This was the date I requested.  My son got the same dates.


I'm surprised that they sent it so far ahead of time.  That's a very good sign in terms of their current expectation for vaccine availability.  


joan_crystal said:

 2/13 for the 1st dose. 3.13 for the second dose.  This was the date I requested.  My son got the same dates.

 I also got those dates in a confirming email and text so that must be where they are now. Seems that it you got a tentative appointment on the Essex website for a date before the 13th and haven't heard anything by now, you should check in with them.


fed123 said:

joan_crystal said:

 2/13 for the 1st dose. 3.13 for the second dose.  This was the date I requested.  My son got the same dates.

 I also got those dates in a confirming email and text so that must be where they are now. Seems that it you got a tentative appointment on the Essex website for a date before the 13th and haven't heard anything by now, you should check in with them.

 My wife received a confirmation yesterday and her appointment is Feb. 8.   I had my appointment last Thurs. and received my confirmation email only a few days before so it does appear they're sending out the confirmations earlier, which does relieve a lot of the anxiety.


spontaneous said:

If Essex county was more efficient than any other county then they should have run out of vaccines first, yet they’re still able to put out available dates? How does that make sense.

To me, it makes sense this way: A county that administers more doses per day than another county is more efficient because the test right now is volume, not percentage. By that measure, a county with 45,000 doses would be more efficient than a county with 8,600 as long as it took less than five times as long to run out.


A friend of mine up in Woodstock is finding it impossible to get an appointment anywhere due to demand.

Apparently this whole "I want to live" thing is more popular that I would have imagined.


Just read Michelle Goldberg's column. She can't figure out how to get appointments for her parents!


From Coordinator, SOMA Two Towns For All Ages:

Please share with anyone you know who could benefit from this information.

How to Schedule a COVID Vaccine

The best place to go is www.essexcovid.org. You can now see when and
where appointments are available. They are not setting up appointments
until they know for sure they will have a supply for that date, so you may
need to check often. To speak to an operator, all the Essex County COVID Call Center at 973-877-8456.

A NJ State vaccine call center to assist individuals to pre-register for vaccine and make vaccine appointments, including those with no computers, is open 8 am-8 pm. The call center number is: 855-568- 0545.

If you are a patient in the Atlantic Health System, they will be scheduling
vaccines for people who are eligible. You can see their sign up information
at  https://www.atlantichealth.org/


STANV said:

Just read Michelle Goldberg's column. She can't figure out how to get appointments for her parents!

 Have her call me.


I was fortunate enough to volunteer at an Essex County vaccination site in late December and earlier today, I received my 2nd shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. There have been so many questions about the process and after helping a few others through the process, I wanted to share what I’ve learned, in the interest of eliminating confusion, addressing many of the questions I have seen on local online forums and making this easier for everyone. (Please note that the process is constantly being updated, but this is accurate to the best of my knowledge as of today)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RobSum-bKwyQ8PNQYHzsB0aKw3qscXzrFkjYlfRbIS8


What time does the Livingston site open?


michaelgoldberg said:

I was fortunate enough to volunteer at an Essex County vaccination site in late December and earlier today, I received my 2nd shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. There have been so many questions about the process and after helping a few others through the process, I wanted to share what I’ve learned, in the interest of eliminating confusion, addressing many of the questions I have seen on local online forums and making this easier for everyone. (Please note that the process is constantly being updated, but this is accurate to the best of my knowledge as of today)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RobSum-bKwyQ8PNQYHzsB0aKw3qscXzrFkjYlfRbIS8

 Thank you so much for doing this.  My experience has varied from what you wrote on two points.  

The State pre-registration is no longer meaningless.  I received a confirmation email from the State which included several State administered sites that had available appointments at the time the confirmation email was issued.  Like with the County sites, these appointment dates are likely to be filled quickly.  Once you have the State link, you need to check back frequently to find an open date.  The list I received included sites as far as 100 miles from Maplewood.  Be prepared to travel if you select this option.  

As the County dates that open up may now be several weeks to a month from the date you submit your survey, confirmation emails are coming more quickly.  I received my confirmation email with appointment dates/time three weeks before my appointment for my first shot.


Formerlyjerseyjack said:

What time does the Livingston site open?

 I believe the first appointment is 10 or 10:30am


we have our confirmed dates of 2/23 & 3/23 for shot #2


Does anyone know if we can arrive earlier than the scheduled time at the Livingston location? I have an afternoon appointment on Monday but worried that possible snow will trigger an early closing. 


WorkingMom, I haven't been yet myself, but understand that exact timing isn't expected or required. My only concern would be that lots of people would be thinking like you, with snow in the forecast, and you might find it more crowded than you might like, with a longer wait. But I'd go early too!


Thanks to a heads-up from JerseyJack when the website went live, I registered early. Technically, I wasn't fully eligible, but they gave me two appointments the same day, and two more for the second shot. Yeah, there were lots of early glitches in the system. There was no way, at that point,  to contact them to cancel the duplicates. When I arrived on Jan. 5 for my vaccination, THEY had no way to cancel it in the computer system, either. Oy vey, but it was what it was. Everyone involved at the Sears site was wonderful: professional, attentive, helpful, cheerful. And I had no reaction. 

I'm due on Groundhog's Day for my second vaccination, Punxsutawney Phil and snow permitting.

As for all the above speculation on the continued efficacy of the current vaccines, whether we'll need boosters and when, how effective they'll be against the new mutations, etc., there simply hasn't been enough time to study it all. If you have the right training or interest, try to read the published papers BEHIND the press releases. If not, then it sounds like Bikefixed might be willing to accept your tuition money, but I do suggest you provide your own triple espressos. He's got enough to do.

Edited to add: My cousin from Monmouth County had to travel up to Bergen County, after numerous appts in her area were cancelled. While up there, she meet a couple from Cape May County who drove 3 hours to get their vaccinations. By comparison, I'd say Essex County is doing a pretty good job.


We both got our confirmations 2 weeks ahead of the first shot. I was 1/23 and 2/20 . My wife is 2/3 and 3/3. And you can go earlier . my time was 12:10 and was there at 1115 and got right in.  


WorkingMom said:

Does anyone know if we can arrive earlier than the scheduled time at the Livingston location? I have an afternoon appointment on Monday but worried that possible snow will trigger an early closing. 

 @WorkingMom Yes--I was told that they don't care what time your appointment is--you have an allotted vaccine on that day.  


bak said:

 @WorkingMom Yes--I was told that they don't care what time your appointment is--you have an allotted vaccine on that day.  

I got the same answer. Show up when you can and I think they'll take you.

I had a 12:45 appt for my second shot on Wednesday.  I got there at 2 and was out by 2:23.

FYI I ended up feeling cruddy from about 11 am to 6 pm yesterday (day after my shot). Like a mild flu without the nasal and chest congestion ... general feeling of tired and ickiness. Moderna vaccine. I would do it again if need be.


In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.