Computer system error temporarily turns away people 65 years old or older from making a vaccine appointment

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Walgreens said on Wednesday an error in its’ system stopped people 65-years-old or older from temporarily making a vaccine appointment at their Iowa stores.

The error was fixed by Wednesday afternoon. But, multiple Iowans told our KCRG-TV9 i9 Investigative Unit, the error stopped them from making an appointment on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Tony Host, who has been trying to get a COVID-19 Vaccine for three weeks, said he was declared ineligible to receive a vaccine because he couldn’t tell the website he was 65-years-old or older. In Iowa, people can receive a vaccine dose if they are 65-years-old or older under Phase 1B.

Instead, he said the Walgreens sign-up website in the screening process only allowed him to select if he was a healthcare worker, a frontline essential worker, had a medical condition or none of the above.

Host said he told the website he had a medical condition. The website, then, told him he couldn’t make an appointment because people with medical conditions are not eligible in Iowa to get a vaccine dose.

He said he’s frustrated with the process overall.

“There’s no pathway to registration, none,” Host said. “So, I got a fast internet. Do I have to sit here hourly and go to Walgreens? Bu,t the problem is they changed it and now I can’t get to where I was.”