Some Mass. Residents Face Months-Long COVID Appointment Wait Times

Thousands of Massachusetts residents faced painfully long waits while trying to book new appointments after the state's mass COVID-19 vaccination website went online Thursday (February 25) morning.

Governor Charlie Baker said tech experts worked all week in preparation for the website's 8:00 a.m. launch and an expected surge in traffic, while some residents claimed it crashed about an hour later, CBS Boston reports.

A total of 50,000 new appointments were "nearly all filled" through the website just before 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, but others were told they'd have to wait for days to get out of the waiting room. One user sent an image to CBS Boston which said their "estimated wait time was 65,640 minutes," which is more than 45 days.

Another user shared a message in which they were told their wait time was 39,725 minutes, which is more than 27 days.

However, many other residents were eventually able to make appointments, including CBS Boston anchor Liam Martin, who said he was able to do so "with a lot of patience."

The state is advising residents unable to make an appointment on Thursday to "try again next week" but warns that "it may take several attempts over the course of a few weeks to get an open slot."

The vaccine website crashed last Thursday (February 18) when one million residents 65 and older and others with two medical conditions became eligible to make appointments.

Gov. Baker is set to appear before the legislature's coronavirus oversight committee to address issues related to the state's vaccine rollout.

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