You can’t book an appointment.
That’s what some callers say they are being told when they call the state’s vaccine hotline, even though state officials said Monday the system was set up to help to them secure a slot.
The representatives did not say the appointments were unavailable because they were all booked, frustrated people told NJ Advance Media. But instead, callers said they were told the workers didn’t have the capability to make appointments at all.
The confusion comes after Health Department commissioner Judy Persichilli said at the governor’s Monday coronavirus briefing that the hotline had started making appointments.
She said more than 600 appointments had been booked through the hotline since Wednesday. Over the weekend, she said, the call center took more than 16,000 calls, registered 514 people with the New Jersey Vaccine Scheduling System (NJVSS) and made appointments for 286 people.
“They started making first dose appointments last Wednesday,” Persichilli said, noting she wasn’t sure if second dose appointments were being made.
Faisel Muhammad of South Brunswick said he called the hotline on Tuesday and was turned away.
“The person told me to wait for the second email after registering with NJVSS, that it will have a link for setting up an appointment,” Muhammad said. “No phone appointments.”
Carol Rayside said when she called, a representative said “they can only register people and could not make appointments.”
Vincent Tamburro said his mother, who is over age 65, called the hotline and a representative told her “they don’t know why they aren’t able to schedule anything.” And when he tried the hotline himself, the representative said she couldn’t even get into the scheduling system.
“We are becoming incredibly frustrated,” the Wanaque man said.
Jane, 72, who didn’t want to provide her last name, said she has called the hotline multiple times.
“Initially I was informed there were operators to register and others to book appointments,” she said. “One time I was placed on hold for about an hour waiting for an appointment operator, only to be disconnected. (During) another call I was told that was incorrect. They only register.”
When asked about the complaints, a spokeswoman did not answer questions about what the representatives were allegedly saying, but said vaccine supply is limited and demand is high.
“As the Commissioner said in (Monday’s) briefing, callers are getting through, people are being registered and appointments have been made for eligible individuals,” spokeswoman Nancy Kearney said. “As supply increases, more appointments will become available.”
She said the call center has the same access to make appointments that is available to the public, but they are able to see all available appointments in the state at once.
“As we continue to receive more vaccine from the federal government in the coming months, we anticipate more appointments will be available through the call center,” Kearney said.
Others hotline callers reported other issues, including having trouble with the automated system.
Jack of Hunterdon County, who didn’t want to give his last name, said when he called, the system told him to press one if he’s already registered and would like to book an appointment.
“You are told to hold on for a rep, then it says since you haven’t responded please hang up and call back. What a joke,” he said. “Thinking someone is going to speak with them when they are told to please wait for the next rep, then silence, and the recording says since YOU did not respond they hang up. You aren’t given a question to respond to!”
Still others said they were on hold for 45 minutes or more, then they were suddenly disconnected.
The call center, which is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, can be reached at (855) 568-0545.
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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.