AUSTIN, Texas — The KVUE Defenders are continuing to answer your COVID-19 questions.
We've received several from seniors having difficulty getting on the waiting list, so we reached out to Austin Public Health (APH). The agency told us the best thing to do at this point is register through the APH system.
We asked about the trouble many of our viewers have reported having, and officials said they know the nurse hotline and portal platform continue to be frustrations. They are working with their vendor and partners to make adjustments to the systems.
Right now, many of the issues force people to call the nurse hotline. That is being addressed to help people just schedule appointments due to lack of internet access.
The Travis County call center is helping register people over 80 years old, which should also reduce the demand on the nurse hotline. But these changes will take time.
Once you are in the registered database, APH is then reaching out to individuals 80 years of age or older and at high-risk and sending them emails ahead of the general population to let them know about upcoming vaccination appointment timeslots.
Several people are also reportedly having difficulty scheduling the second dose of the vaccine. So, how long can you wait to get the second dose?
The CDC issued new guidelines at the end of January that say if you cannot get the second dose within the 21- and 28-day timeframes, don't worry. You can get it as late as 42 days, or six weeks, after the first dose.
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