New Hampshire will ditch the problematic federal vaccination scheduling system in the next few weeks but in the meantime is adding tens of thousands of second-shot appointment slots per day, state officials said Wednesday.
Vaccinations began Jan. 23 for the 325,000 people in phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan. That includes anyone age 65 or older, people with at least two qualifying medical conditions, corrections workers, and staff and residents of residential facilities for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Problems have cropped up as some of those people try to schedule their second doses close to the recommended time frame of 21 or 28 days after the first. Some were given appointments two months later, and confusion has grown about how and when to reschedule.
The state tried to upload a large number of appointment times into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s scheduling system but was unable to add them all at once, Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday.
“The federal system couldn’t handle the influx we were giving it, so we’re sort of spoon-feeding it bit by bit,” he told the Executive Council.
The state plans to discontinue use of the federal system before the next phase begins, he said.
“The hope is as we get to 2A, we’re going to be on a fully state system,” he said. “I think everyone agrees this federal system is a real problem. It is clunky, it is messy. We can’t really control it. If there’s a problem we can’t slow it down, we can’t speed it up.”
Sununu said everyone in phase 1B will be able to receive their second dose within a week of the recommended date.
“The state will meet these deadlines, and we continue to urge patience,” he said in an email.
“It really isn’t a matter of the vaccine availability,” said Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette. “It is there. It’s getting the mechanics of the site up. We have the doses.”