‘Giving up after an hour of trying’: Ontarians report problems with booster booking portal

Ontario’s portal for booking COVID-19 vaccines appeared to crash Monday morning as residents 50 and older who received their second shot at least six months ago became eligible for booster doses.

The provincial vaccine booking portal opened for appointments at 8 a.m., but shortly afterwards showed a message to try again later.

Social media users reported a number of problems on Twitter and expressed frustration with the province’s online booking system.

“I waited in line for 30 minutes to get on and after entering in my info, I get a ‘Service unavailable’ message,” one person wrote.

“Giving up after an hour of trying, and crashes, and re-entering info; I have to do some actual work today. Will try later this week, or after the holidays,” another said.

“After [a] long wait and many [unsuccessful] tries, we finally got a booking for our booster shot. It took 2 hours,” one person told CityNews. 

Some, however, reported successfully booking a third dose after several attempts or waiting more than 30 minutes.

The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ostensibly related to a high demand in online booking attempts, Toronto Public Health (TPH) tweeted early on Monday that it was receiving a high volume of calls, saying “residents may experience longer wait times. We thank you for your patience and apologize for the inconvenience.”

Toronto Public Health is currently receiving a high volume of calls & residents may experience longer wait times. We thank you for your patience & apologize for the inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/YFg0nMWWPN

— Toronto Public Health (@TOPublicHealth) December 13, 2021

People can also book shots by phone, through local public health units using their own booking systems and at some pharmacies and primary care clinics.

Appointments will be booked approximately six months (168 days) after a second dose. People receiving dialysis are also eligible for third COVID-19 vaccine doses if it’s been 56 days since their second shot.

Previously, individuals aged 70-and-up were eligible for booster shots, as well as anyone who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Booster eligibility will open up to all adults on Jan. 4 but the province’s top doctor has said the schedule could move faster if capacity allows. Monday also marks the deadline for long-term care workers in the province to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Staff, students and volunteers can’t enter long-term care homes without proof of both doses.

The expanded eligibility comes as Ontario’s panel of expert advisers on COVID-19 said that the Omicron variant — first detected in the province in late November — now accounts for 21 per cent of Ontario’s COVID-19 cases.

Cases of Omicron are doubling every three days, the group said.

“The current surge is mostly Delta, but it’s hitting us just as we need to be ramping up for Omicron — and it’s a sign of how vulnerable an un/undervaccinated province is,” the panel said in a tweet.