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Nearly 20 elderly islanders managed to secure an early vaccination appointment after a link to the covid jab booking site was leaked.
The bookings process for over-80s officially launched this morning, with appointments available from 13 January.
But a link to the booking page, which was previously only intended for use by health workers, ended up being shared beyond the intended cohort and was circulated widely on social media and among groups of older islanders over the weekend and on Monday.
It led some to secure what the Government described as “critical slots” reserved for health staff.
Islanders are asked not to visit the booking site until Wednesday as appointments are currently being scheduled for frontline HCS staff and some bookings are already being made by the public in those critical slots.
— Government of Jersey (@GovJersey) January 4, 2021
Despite the mistake, a Government spokesperson confirmed to Express that any appointments erroneously made in advance for the elderly would be honoured.
They said that there were fewer than 20 of such appointments.
The booking form was later updated to only allow those in the categories of ‘frontline Health and Social Care workers’, ‘home care staff’, ‘registered care home staff’ and ‘registered residential home staff’ to book.
Anyone who selected ‘none of the above’ will then receive a message stating that they are “currently not eligible for this phased Vaccination Programme” and that “public communications will inform you when the programme is ready to accept your booking.”
That changed again this morning, when over-80s were finally invited to register online.
Pictured: Appointments made for over-80s will be honoured, despite being made ahead of tomorrow's official launch.
All public appointments will be at the Covid-19 Vaccination Centre at Fort Regent, but the vaccination team will be able to start visiting islanders unable to leave their homes from 18 January.
The Government has asked the family, friends, and neighbours of elderly people who do not have access to the internet to book appointments on their behalf, if requested.
Parish Halls will also be on hand to support people wishing to make a booking.
When making a booking, the name, address and contact details of the person to be vaccinated will be required, along with their Social Security number and date of birth.
Pictured: The Government's tier system for its vaccination programme.
Vaccination Lead Becky Sherrington said: “Our staff will be working hard to ensure Islanders are vaccinated safely and in priority order and so we ask that only those aged 80 or over come forward [on Wednesday]. This will help keep the programme running smoothly and will help lead us forward to some sense of normality.”
Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf added: “This is another important step in protecting older islanders from covid-19.
“I would like to encourage all islanders to make sure their relatives, friends and neighbours who are 80 years old and over know about the vaccine slots, book them as soon as possible, and attend their appointments. We need a community effort to protect these islanders.”
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