COVID-19 vaccine frustration in DC after problems booking appointments online Thursday

WASHINGTON - Heavy online traffic to the D.C. Department of Health's website Thursday morning left some District residents who were trying to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments out of luck.

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"We know this morning was very frustrating for many people," health department officials tweeted just after 10 a.m. "We are working with Microsoft to understand why heavy traffic caused some eligible individuals to not get through."

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The problems began shortly after online appointment scheduling was opened at 9 a.m. Approximately 4,350 vaccination appointments were available for District residents who were in priority zip codes, 65 years old or older, had a qualifying medical condition or were a member of an eligible workforce.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who announced on Wednesday that she lost her sister to COVID-19 complications, tweeted shortly after 9 a.m. that they were aware that many were experiencing delays and that the department was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Several users replied to her tweet detailing the issues they were experiencing.

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In a tweet at 10:24 a.m., health department officials said some appointments were still available through the department's call center. However, many who replied to the tweet were unable to get through.