Duval County

COVID-19: Duval County residents face difficulty confirming their COVID-19 vaccine appointments

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Scoring a vaccine appointment in Duval County hasn’t been easy. And now for those who ended up snagging a time slot for next week, they’ve been met with more challenges.

Several people have reached out saying there’s no way to tell what appointment they actually got.

“It’s just been really, really frustrating. It has taken up a lot of time,” says Lisa Kaufman.

After multiple attempts, Kaufman was finally able to get two vaccine appointments Thursday night for herself and her 90-year-old mother.

But in the frenzy of getting the time slots, she never got a chance to write them down.

And unfortunately, the confirmation page didn’t give the details either.

“We don’t know if anyone of us have appointments at this point.”

The Health Department of Duval County tells Action News Jax there will be no confirmation emails sent out either.

Instead, they say to try and confirm their appointment through the dedicated COVID-19 line: (904) 253-1850.

“Either get a busy signal or the mailbox and the mailbox is full.”

We received several emails and calls claiming the same issue. So Action News Jax’s Dani Bozzini gave it a try and she got the same message

“This mailbox is full and cannot receive new messages” is what the operator said.

Instead of hanging up, she pressed the zero button on the dial pad. After being on hold for almost 20 minutes, she finally got through to a representative and confirmed Henry Roger’s appointment for next week.

That’s the 88-year-old she helped get the time slot on Thursday.

Kaufman believes there should be an easier system put in place.

“You would think this would be a little better designed.”

After the interview, Kaufman was able to get through to someone and get her appointments confirmed by pressing zero just like Dani did.

The phone line is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The health department tells us, ”The 253-1850 phone number is receiving a very high volume of calls. Although, we continue to identify methods to make the appointment-setting process more efficient, the 253-1850 phone number is the only option available for appointment confirmations at this time.

“If the individual does not remember the date and time of their appointment, and cannot confirm through the COVID-19 call center, we recommend that they try for another appointment in the future. Individuals who seek to set appointments should write down their date and time immediately.”

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