BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues to progress; On Monday, St. Luke's Health System unveiled a new registry system designed to act as a "waiting list" for vaccination appointments.
St. Luke's new pre-registration system comes just one week after the Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare launched its new registration site.
The idea behind these waitlists is to clear up confusion and ease frustration from Idahoans who are desperately trying to schedule a vaccine appointment.
Most people who want vaccine appointments at St. Luke's had to constantly check for open slots by checking the hospital's website or calling in. Now, that is no longer necessary.
There are now a number of ways Idahoans can get vaccine appointments, but they are all different from one another.
Here's how and where you can pre-register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
At the direction of Gov. Brad Little, the state created a new pre-registration solution to help alleviate the frustration that many Idahoans have experienced in trying to make an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"The ability for Idahoans to get a vaccine – should they choose to do so – is my top priority," Little said. "The new pre-registration system is designed to take the frustration out of getting a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. It is user-friendly, easy to understand, and it was built from the ground up with Idahoans in mind."
The new system will require patients to provide information in one location so that providers can reach out to eligible patients when appointments are available. You can add your name to the waiting list regardless of when you are eligible to get the vaccine.
Officials said that the new system is designed to improve communication so people don't have to check websites or call providers.
Idahoans aged 65 and older who have not received the vaccine are encouraged to use the new system so they can get on the list and an enrolled provider in their area can contact them to schedule an appointment.
To pre-register for a vaccine appointment, click here.
Rather than eligible Idahoans having to check the St. Luke's website or call for available vaccine appointments, St. Luke's will now reach out to patients on the registry when vaccine supply arrives and appointments are available.
St. Luke's is asking those interested in being added to the vaccine registry to fill out a questionnaire in myChart, the patient online electronic health portal. It is important to more the St. Luke's registry is separate from the Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare's online registry.
St. Luke's released instructions on how to pre-register for a COVID-19 vaccine. Those who pre-register will have one week after being contacted by St. Luke's to schedule their appointment:
Patients registered in myChart are in eligible groups, have seen a St. Luke’s provider in the past 18 months and haven’t yet received the COVID-19 vaccine:
- Please let us know you want to be added to the vaccine registry by filling out a questionnaire in myChart.
- When open appointments are available for your group, you will be contacted via myChart to schedule.
St. Luke’s patients who AREN’T registered in myChart, are in eligible groups, have seen a St. Luke’s provider in the past 18 months and haven’t yet received the COVID-19 vaccine:
- Please consider setting up a myChart account by calling 208-381-9000. Once you are signed up, you will be able to fill out an online questionnaire to let us know you want to be added to the registry. You will be contacted when appointments are available for your group.
- If you don’t have internet access or need interpretation services, you can call us at 208-381-9500 to be added to our vaccine registry. We will contact you by your preferred method when it’s time for you to schedule an appointment.
People who are not St. Luke’s patients, have not received the vaccine and are in an eligible group:
- If you have never used St. Luke’s services, please call 208-381-9000 to set up a myChart account. Once you are signed up, you will be able to fill out an online questionnaire to let us know you want to be added to the registry. You will be contacted when appointments are available for your group. NOTE: St. Luke's serves communities in Idaho and eastern Oregon.
- If you don’t have internet access or need interpretation services, you can call us at 208-381-9500 to be added to our vaccine registry. We will contact you when it’s time for you to schedule an appointment.
St. Luke’s patients and non-St. Luke’s patients in unopened state groups:
- If you are not in a currently eligible group, please wait a few weeks to fill out the online questionnaire or call St. Luke’s Connect at 208-381-9500. Our systems can only handle so many users at a time, and we need to keep the lines open for patients in need and those in currently eligible groups. The order in which questionnaires are filled out does NOT determine when registrants get the vaccine, so there is no benefit to filling it out immediately.
- When you are ready, please follow the instructions outlined to join the registry.
Information on how to register and the COVID-19 vaccine can be found here.
In case you missed it, Saint Alphonsus opened a vaccine center at the Village in Meridian to make the process easier for people.
There is no guarantee that all eligible people wanting to sign up will be able to. Anytime new availability is announced it tends to go fast. Saint Alphonsus is encouraged by the flow of vaccine supple and their ability to get shots into arms.
To set up an appointment through Saint Alphonsus, click here. Once you're on the website, select 'Schedule' and look for a timeslot if one is available.
It is important to note that Saint Alphonsus is vaccinating everyone at their new off-site vaccine clinic in The Meridian Village in the old Gormans.
Primary Health is currently only vaccinating those who are eligible. If you are, you can call one of their 18 clinics that are administering the vaccine.
The clinic will work with you to schedule an appointment at any location that has an appointment slot that works for you.
Primary Health told KTVB they do keep a waitlist of eligible vaccine recipients, who are willing to be called last minute at any time, on any day should a leftover dose become available.
However, right now it is not open to the public. Only Primary Health employees can get on that list.
Primary Health said they worked with the local health districts to come up an internal process for putting people on that list. To schedule an appointment, click here.
Scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine through the Albertsons Pharmacy can be done on their website. Albertsons does have a waitlist at their pharmacies at this time.
Those patients have to be within the current phase of eligibility, and they must contact the local store to be added to it.
For more information, click here.
At KTVB, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.ktvb.com/coronavirus.
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