BEAUMONT, Texas — The City of Beaumont opened up the 311 hotline for people who want to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but other providers in Southeast Texas are setting up waitlists also.
Signing up for Beaumont's vaccine waitlist may lead to long waits or the call might fail to go through.
Chambers County is doing pre-registration online instead of a waitlist. When someone signs up, their information is automatically entered into ImmTrac2, which means the county would simply look them up in the system when someone comes for their vaccine, health officials said.
"We're actually not establishing a waitlist, that way we're not having to maintain a list and then call people back," Chambers County Public Information Officer Samantha Humphrey said.
"The reason we do the online process is because the form that we use actually automatically downloads into Immtrac2," she said.
Basic information such as the person's name, age, telephone number and address is all included in the pre-registration. Then the pre-vaccination checklist is the last thing that needs to be completed before receiving the shot.
"It kind of just makes the process run more smoothly, and we're not doubling up on work," Humphrey said.
Registration spots are based on how many vaccines are allocated to the county. The county prefers this method to give everyone an equal opportunity, she said.
Chambers County has a notification system in place to alert people who sign up when registration is open again, but only residents of Chambers County can receive the notifications. However, non-residents of Chambers County can also pre-register to be vaccinated.
The Port Arthur Health Department and Brookshire Brothers pharmacy are also keeping their waitlists online.
"People were just calling and putting their names on the list, but the truth is it's so overwhelmed," Port Arthur Health Department Director Judith Smith said.
Just like Beaumont, Port Arthur's Health Department had a high volume of calls, she said.
"Our IT department just came up with a link where people can now go online and register," Smith said.
Along with personal information, Port Arthur Health Department and Brookshire Brothers also ask if the person registering is at high-risk for coronavirus.
"We tried to make this process as easy as possible for our residents wanting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine," Brookshire Brothers said in an emailed statement. "When our first vaccine allocations arrived at our pharmacies, we were inundated with a large volume of calls."
Brookshire Brothers has two waiting lists — one for Texas residents and one for Louisiana residents, since the requirements to receive the vaccine are different in each state.
Anyone currently eligible to receive the vaccine in phase 1a or 1b can visit BrookshireBrothers.com/COVID-19 and select either the Texas or Louisiana waitlist.
"For those unable to access the internet or need assistance filling out the form, our pharmacy staff is more than willing to help," Brookshire Brother said in the statement.
Anyone not currently in phase 1a or 1b can sign up for another email notification list on the website to get updates on when the vaccines will be available.
Many Brookshire Brothers pharmacies have already administered the first doses of their vaccine allocations, but pharmacists will call people on the waitlist once more are available, the company said.
Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames said the city's phone-in waiting list is open to anyone.
"I expect that the majority of the people that are priority that really need it, once we start calling them if we get the vaccines will have already gotten it somewhere else," she said.
Those living in Beaumont can call 311 to get on the wait list. Those who live outside the city, should call (409) 980-8311 to get on the wait list. 311 hours are Monday through Sunday from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. except for holidays, according to the city's website.