DOVER — Delaware’s number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered are increasing, but so is the amount of confusion and frustration surrounding the process.
A total of 13,500 vaccinations were scheduled for weekend clinics at Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles sites in Georgetown and Delaware City. The total included 11,500 individuals 65-years-and-older as part of Phase 1B and 2,000 Phase 1A health care personnel with appropriate documentation from their employer or DPH.
In a separate event on Sunday, Bayhealth’s Dover location administered 300 doses of vaccine. All vaccinations at this private event were scheduled and went to individuals who are part of both the 1A and 1B distribution groups.
The Delaware Division of Public Health is reporting 67,475 doses of vaccine administered, using data in the state’s vaccination information system DelVAX as of Saturday at 11:59 p.m. That total does not include any vaccinations done on Sunday at either the drive-thru events at DMVs or Bayhealth’s clinic.
While 13,500 doses were scheduled at the DMV sites this weekend, its not yet known if all individuals stayed to receive their shots. Lucilla Esham, a 65-year-old who attended the Georgetown DMV clinic, said numerous cars gave up and left the line as the site was experiencing significant delays.
Ms. Esham said she herself waited for nearly six hours in line for her vaccination. She said she hopes there is a better plan in place for when she needs to receive her second dose.
“We need to change the system before 28 days,” Ms. Esham said. “I’m afraid some people won’t come back for the booster because they don’t want to go through that ordeal again. I don’t know if I want to.”
Registration for the DMV sites was done via a new online system the DPH unveiled on Wednesday.
Those who already had received their first doses prior to the new registration system, such as at a DPH dry-run at the Dover DMV over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, are not sure if they can register for their second doses through the new system.
“The state has a great way to register for shots now, but it is unclear if that is for first shots only or for both first and second shots,” said Gene Thornton, who was vaccinated at the Dover DMV on Jan. 18. “There are many of us who got our shots over MLK weekend who are wondering what will happen when Feb. 15 rolls around. Feb. 15 will be 28 days for me, time for the second shot for optimum immunity.”
A DPH spokesperson said more information on second doses would be available in the future.
“DPH can’t schedule appointments for second doses right now but will encourage those being vaccinated this weekend to visit our website around that time to see what options are available,” said a statement emailed to the State News. Those being vaccinated this weekend may be able to be reached via email from the new appointment system with options that will be available, such as another vaccination event.
DMV clinic delays
Ms. Esham said she arrived in line on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. for a 3:30 appointment. She had heard about lengthy delays from her mother-in-law, who was at the site earlier.
When Ms. Esham first pulled her car into the line, she was 1.8 miles way from the DMV. She said she could not see the DMV until 5 p.m. and finished the process around 7:30 p.m.
The DPH extended the hours of the clinic and posted on Facebook asking those who were in line to stay there. Not everyone saw this post, said Ms. Esham.
“The only reason I hung in there was because I saw on Facebook we were being told to stay in line,” Ms. Esham said. “A lot of people just peeled out. They couldn’t take it anymore.”
Ms. Esham described most of her journey as, “being stopped for 15 minutes, then moving six feet.” She said a car two ahead of hers in line broke down, and was pushed to the side of the road by its elderly passengers as Ms. Esham called a state trooper for assistance.
“I don’t know if they ever got their shots,” Ms. Esham said.
Improvements were made to Sunday’s clinics to alleviate some of the problems which contributed to Saturday’s delays.
Georgetown’s DMV switched to a paper-based system for Sunday after Saturday’s cold weather caused technological issues scanning QR codes. Staff also arrived an hour and a half early on Sunday in Georgetown to begin the check-in process at 8:30 a.m. even though the clinic opened at 10 a.m.
Additional state troopers were deployed in Delaware City and Georgetown on Sunday to help manage traffic. The Delaware City location added generators, laptops and IT personnel Sunday while it also created a separate line for those in Phase 1A.
Emails were sent out to all those who registered for Sunday’s events, asking them to complete the pre-registration forms prior to arrival. The DPH reiterated this message on its Facebook page.
“It is important that you fill out the Medical History information in the VAMS account you created so it does not have to be added at the vaccination event,” the post read. “Please use the username and password you created to make the appointment to go back to VAMS and add the Medical History information before you reach the vaccination event.”
What’s next?
Those who participated in the large-scale vaccination events are hopeful there will be better options available when it is time to for the second dose.
The Moderna vaccine requires 28 days in between doses while the Pfizer vaccine requires 21. When a person is vaccinated they receive a card telling them what type of vaccine they received and what date they need to get the second dose by.
Ms. Thornton said she wants better communication from the state. Her vaccination event last weekend came when some individuals who were not in Phase 1A or Phase 1B were able to get vaccinated because of what the DPH called “word of mouth” as word quickly spread on social media that shots were available.
“The state created ‘haves and haves nots’ and benefited some, who had computers and friends in the know and their own transportation and time to sit in line because they were not working over a holiday weekend, over others who did not have these luxuries,” Ms. Thornton said. “That is bad governance no matter how the state tries to say it was a ‘logistical trial run” or a “soft launch.’ They screwed up and they should explain themselves.”
Ms. Esham suggested a system similar to the state’s successful COVID-19 testing program, multiple pop-up sites in different locations per week which could avoid the large traffic delays she experienced in Georgetown.
“All the people in line don’t work; they’re all retired,” Ms. Esham said. “Why is it on a weekend? It wasn’t sensible, it was borderline crazy.”
According to the DPH’s vaccine tracker, Delaware has used 67,475 doses of the 96,325 it has received, based on what has been reported in DelVax. This mark of 70% is as of Saturday at 11:59 p.m., prior to any vaccination events on Sunday.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine tracker has Delaware as receiving 116,325 doses as of Saturday at 8 p.m. Using this number, Delaware has administered 58% of its available doses as of Saturday at 11:59 p.m.
The state’s vaccine tracker has been experiencing reporting delays in terms of what has been inputted into DelVAX, according to the DPH.
Delaware entered Phase 1B last week and is still vaccinating those in Phase 1A, as its phased, tiered approach allows this. The state is relying on multiple partners, such as Bayhealth and Beebe Healthcare, to assist with those vaccinations.
“We are proud to partner with the state in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Bayhealth Director of Emergency Management and Public Safety Ryan Clarke in a statement. “Last weekend, dozens of Bayhealth team members assisted at the vaccination pod at the Dover DMV, which vaccinated more than 10,000 individuals who were part of the 1A vaccination group. … We look forward to continued collaborations with our state partners to vaccinate more Delawareans now that we have moved to phase 1B.”
Bayhealth has administered vaccinations to more than 2,400 of its team members, as of the end of last week, so that number does not include any of the 300 vaccinations done on Sunday. A spokesperson for Beebe Healthcare said it has offered the vaccine to all team members in addition to members of Phase 1A outside of Beebe and has started in Phase 1B.
Both Beebe and Bayhealth have already administered second doses to some team members.
As a state, Delaware ranks around the middle of the pack for percentage of vaccine used, as of Friday. The large-scale vaccination events this weekend could help the state catch up to those at the top of the list like West Virgina, the Dakotas and Connecticut.
“The state needs to look at the West Virginia model,” Ms. Esham said. “They used all of their resources.”
Delawareans age 65 and older and can request a COVID-19 vaccine at this website: vaccinerequest.delaware.gov. It is highly recommended the online system be used, but those without computer access may call the COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at 1-833-643-1715 and a call center operator can assist in making the initial request.
Both the website and the call center are experiencing high volume of visitors, according to the DPH.
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