Confusion, contradiction and computers: Why some frontline workers struggle obtain COVID-19 vaccines

Vaccination scheduling communication suffers Frontline workers say poor communications have prevented them from booking a date for a vaccine. Chris Epp reports.

CALGARY — Hannah Brown is a labour and delivery nurse in Calgary, but says COVID-19 has taken the fun out of the job.

“There is a lot less hugging, a lot less touching,” she says. “You get really close to your patients in our experience.”

Brown hopes to get close with her patients once again. She received her first dose of the COVID vaccine Friday morning, less than 24 hours after health officials offered her a slot.

“I knew they had lots of availability over the weekend and they were trying to make sure they would get as many peope vaccinated so they didn’t have to waste any of it,” she says.

“It worked out well for me since I was off this weekend – I was able to get my shot.”

A lot of health-care workers are trying to get their shot this weekend.

That’s because Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, says fewer than 800 appointments had been made, even though 16,000 slots were available.

Many health workers say they were stunned to learn of those vacancies, as they’d been waiting several weeks to find out when they could get a dose.

“It seems there is a lot of chaos and disorganization happening in the roll-out process,” says Danielle Larivee with the United Nurses of Alberta. “We have members who are eligible who haven’t received their email to book the appointment yet or they got a test and not an email – or an email to an invalid link or told there was no vaccine but then there was so they had to drive a ways away.“

Several health-care workers tell CTV News that the online booking system used by the province is riddled with complications, often disconnecting users or not allowing schedule changes.

The province confirmed Friday that its computer system suffered technical difficulties Thursday evening but that those were fixed within a few hours.