Prognosis

U.S. Officials Resort to Party-Invite Sites for Vaccine Rollout

  • After months of lead time, few states have appointment systems
  • Tech-savvy children click for elderly and endangered parents
Seniors and first responders wait in line for vaccines in Fort Myers, Fla., on Dec. 30, 2020.Photographer: Octavio Jones/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

It’s the most massive vaccine rollout in U.S. history, but many local governments are consigning patient appointments to web-based services better known for handling birthday-party RSVPs and online yoga sessions.

Several Florida counties have deployed Eventbrite. Some Oklahoma governments dabbled with SignUpGenius and one New Jersey county was still using the service. Elsewhere, some seekers of Covid-19 protection reported hours-long holds on appointment hotlines -- only to be disconnected -- or logging on to websites that lock them out.