5 tips for getting the appointment with the COVID-19 vaccine

SAINT ANTHONY – With every Texan 16 years of age or older who meets the requirements to receive a COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, the race for vaccination appointments is about to become much more competitive.

So how do you maximize your chances of getting a place?

KSAT 12 spoke with two women who have spent their free time helping to get more than 1,400 people among them to sign up for vaccine appointments.

They offer the following tips for getting your appointment.

Great vaccination sites like Alamodome or WellMed clinics can be helpful, but they shouldn’t be the end of your search. Lisa Holguin and Karen James recommend that you also consult with suppliers who have fewer doses per location.

“I would recommend looking at local pharmacies. There are a lot of them that will come out “, said Holguin, who so far has registered at least 420 people.

James, who has enrolled more than 1,000 people so far, said he mainly joins HEB and Walmart. These two, along with CVS Pharmacy, are poised to become major vaccine providers in the coming weeks, although they don’t have the same profile as the larger sites.

Announcements

KSAT has collected information on some of the largest providers in the San Antonio area HERE, although not an exhaustive list.

Take advantage of any text, email, or smartphone alerts you may find.

For those vendors who do not have alert options, such as HEB or Walmart, check their sites frequently. Appointments may appear throughout the day and may also help you check unusual times.

“Where I have the most time (most people, I should say), is early in the morning, from 2 to 4 in the morning,” James said. “I’m like kicking people left and right.”

If you find a waiting list vaccine provider, go ahead and sign up as well. Although you may want to use it as a backup plan while you continue to search for something earlier.

Announcements

These are some of the places to sign up for notifications or to check for updates.

• COSA text notifications – Send a “vaccine” text message to 55000 for appointment information through the four major vaccination providers: the city of San Antonio (in the Alamodome), WellMed, UT Health, and University Health (in the country of the wonders of the Americas).

• UH Go mobile application – University Health has its own smartphone app that will allow you to access new appointments.
• UH email updates – University Health says you can also sign up to receive email notifications through its Health Focus SA blog.

• Flow – Holguin says there are several channels in the Slack app, available for smartphones and computers, that have information about new appointments. You can find the channels by searching for “Texas Vaccine Updates.”

• CVS – Check availability on their website.
• HAVE – Check availability on their website.
• WalMart – Check availability on their website.
• UT Health – Check availability on their website.
• DSHS – The State Department of Health Services website lists the state’s weekly vaccine allocations, which can help you make some guesses about where new appointments might open. However, it does not appear updated with assignments that go directly to local pharmacies through a separate federal program.

The vast majority of vaccine providers only offer one-on-one appointments, usually through online subscriptions. So without fast and amazing writing and good luck, you will have trouble getting multiple appointments at the same time and place.

“That’s what I tell people when they call me and I’m husband or wife: I always tell them,‘ I’ll try to get you together. But at this point it’s almost anything you get, ”Holguin said.

The only exception for multiple records Holguin and James know was WellMed, which has two vaccination sites in the city. A WellMed spokesman confirmed that they will allow four or five people from the same family to register by phone call.

However, WellMed also has a reputation for being a notoriously frustrating way to get an appointment. Because it channels all registrations through your phone system, you can make hundreds of calls before you pass, if you succeed. Therefore, you may not want to put all the eggs in this basket.

Announcements

This depends on the time, location and type of vaccination. The more flexible you are, the more opportunities you will have.

James said he has sent people to Austin, Pearsall and even Brownsville, even though that particular person had family there.

“The farther you are willing to go, the better. If you try to be confident in getting something in San Antonio, you’ll be waiting, ”James said.

However, if you have limitations (whether it’s transportation issues, a hard work schedule, or a doctor recommending that you follow only a certain type of vaccination), the following advice will be twice as helpful.

There are still so many doses to make in Texas. You may need to wait a while before getting vaccinated.

Holguin advises you to expect to spend two to three hours looking for an appointment. While she and James have been able to make numerous appointments a day, they also know their paths to the different systems.

Announcements

“If it’s the first time you’re looking, you’ll probably spend a couple of days (two or three days) looking and getting acquainted with the system and seeing where you can get one,” Holguin said. “And you’ll start to notice what the places are; you’ll miss them, you know, but I’ll say, ‘Okay, so they seem to be releasing a lot from this store.’

But when you find a place that works for you, grab it. Because it is also guaranteed that someone will do it.

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