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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Pilot site COVID vaccinations to be chosen randomly

Switch away from first-come, first-serve process starts Tuesday

David Colburn
Posted 1/25/21

REGIONAL- Overwhelmed by demand last week, Minnesota is ditching the first-come, first-served registration process for its pilot COVID vaccination clinics and will instead implement a random …

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Pilot site COVID vaccinations to be chosen randomly

Switch away from first-come, first-serve process starts Tuesday

Posted

REGIONAL- Overwhelmed by demand last week, Minnesota is ditching the first-come, first-served registration process for its pilot COVID vaccination clinics and will instead implement a random selection process for those 65 and older beginning Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Last week hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans bombarded the registration website and call center hoping to be among the first to receive vaccinations at one of nine clinics throughout the state, including one in Mt. Iron. Most waited in vain, often for hours, as only about 13,000 were ultimately able to get appointments.

The new registration process accounts for anticipated high demand for appointments online and at the call center and allows for more equitable and orderly access to appointments by eliminating the first come, first served system. Appointments for those 65 and older will now be randomly assigned from the pool of those who sign up during a 24-hour window that begins at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

The website, mn.gov/findmyvaccine, will be open for pre-registering from 5 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26 until 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Those unable to register online may call 833-431-2053 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday to sign up.

“Everyone who is currently on the waitlist from the first week will be automatically pre-registered to be randomly selected for an appointment. Signing up for the pre-registration list means you will have a chance to be randomly selected, so you do not have to register right away: it is not a first-come, first-serve system,” the release stated.

Individuals should register only once. Duplicates will automatically be kicked out of the system, the release noted.

Only about 8,000 doses will be available at the pilot clinics this week for those 65 and older. Those randomly selected to receive a vaccine this week will be notified on Wednesday, Jan. 27 by text, email, or phone with instructions on how to finalize appointments. No walk-ins are accepted at the clinics.