Website to schedule vaccine appointments in Collier County leaves many frustrated

Many people in Southwest Florida are frustrated over registering for a coronavirus vaccine appointment.

In Collier County, those seeking vaccination sign up online for an appointment, some waiting for several minutes until learning if they have a ticket to the vaccine.

People we spoke to are feeling defeated. They told us they go online every day with the most hope to get an appointment, but the system crashes, and they can’t do anything.

Florida Department of Health in Collier County says it ran out of spots in 20 minutes Friday morning.

According to DOH-Collier, if events are “sold out,” that doesn’t mean you pay money, and you can still sign up for the waitlist on Eventbrite, but only for that specific day.

“There are times when I miss them so badly, it physically hurts,” Andrea Cooper said. “My son is 41, and I have never gone a year without hugging him, and my granddaughters are 13 and 10, and we are usually together. The first thing I want to do is not only be with them, but I’m gonna tell them they can’t leave.”

The pain the pandemic has caused is immeasurable, and the vaccine could bring a little bit of healing.

“It is stressful,” Gail Strong said. “It’s stressful because we all want it.”

That’s why so many people in the region attempt to get an appointment every day.

“I was at 8:59, clocked it and got the form filled out,” Strong said. “And it just went around and around and around.”

Unfortunately, Strong did not get one of the spots.

“The idea of all getting on at the same time, it just doesn’t work,” Strong said. “It crashes.”

According to DOH-Collier, Eventbrite says, if you did get on the waitlist, don’t go to the clinic. You will receive an email with instructions. Spots fill up quick, but sometimes, people get lucky.

“The golden ticket,” said Tony Cimorelli.

Cimorelli did not give up. “We had three computers set up, plus phones, and we found out specific browsers get faster than others.”

DOH-Collier says, if Eventbrite crashes, unfortunately, it has no control over that, and you would need to contact Eventbrite.

Florida Department of Health on Collier County will let the public know when it receives more doses.

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RESOURCE: WINK News is working by the minute on a daily basis to bring our coverage areas in Southwest Florida the latest COVID-19 vaccine information from the counties you live in.

Visit our COVID-19 vaccine schedules and information for SWFL story for rolling vaccine updates.