BOSTON — It’s been about a week since the first COVID-19 vaccines started being administered, and the week wasn’t without issues.
Boston 25 News has learned a software glitch crashed the online sign-up system at Mass General Brigham hospitals.
“Last Wednesday night (12/15), due to high demand, users experienced slow performance on the scheduling app,” a Mass General Brigham communications representative told Boston 25 News. “In an effort to improve user experience, we took the system down at approximately 10:30 p.m. in order to make adjustments. The system was up and running normally the following morning at 9 a.m.”
There was also an early issue with vaccine supply.
Massachusetts was first told it would get just over 59,000 doses to start, but then learned it would actually receive just under 43,000 doses.
In a weekend press conference, Army General Gustave Perna, the Chief Operating Officer of Operation Warp Speed, took responsibility for the miscommunication with some states over how many doses of Pfizer’s vaccine they would initially receive. ”We have already learned a lot of lessons from last week and the initial rollout,” said Perna. “We will continue to apply those lessons as we move forward.”Some people are also frustrated by who is getting vaccinated first.
Some politicians including U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) recently got their first doses well before many health care workers got their first shots.
Massachusetts has divided its vaccine rollout plan into three phases. Health care workers and first responders like police officers, firefighters and EMTs are included in phase one, but some people are frustrated that some politicians are cutting the so-called line.
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