Idaho’s haphazard vaccine system could get more chaotic with eligibility for everyone

Idaho’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has been disjointed and chaotic, more closely resembling a scene from “The Hunger Games.”

Gov. Brad Little’s announcement Wednesday that everyone older than 16 in Idaho will be eligible to sign up for the vaccine starting April 5 likely will make this process even more unruly and frustrating.

We are hopeful that all will be well, that the estimated 660,000 Idahoans who will be looking for the vaccine will be able to pick up the phone or sign up online for an appointment, get one scheduled easily, and then get the vaccine within a matter of days.

Unfortunately, our experience tells us otherwise.

When Idaho’s seniors were struggling to get appointments in the early stages of the vaccine rollout, Little made a similar announcement that everyone 65 and older was eligible. That led to a flood of appointment-seekers who spent frustrating hours clicking on several providers’ websites, looking in vain for scarce appointments — and, even when scheduled, canceled appointments.

Even though we knew vaccines were coming a long time ago, the state didn’t set up an online sign-up system until March 4.

Idaho is not alone, of course, as other states have similar horror stories, and there is evidence that we are doing better than many states. We are encouraged that at least people are getting vaccinated, and Idaho is ahead of President Joe Biden’s request that states make all adults eligible for vaccines by May 1.

But it’s clear this has not been a user-friendly approach, and opening the floodgates for hundreds of thousands of people is sure to overwhelm the system and cause more frustration for those suffering from vaccine envy.

For the past several weeks, Idahoans have been competing with one another to find an appointment, get on a “secret” waiting list or call around frantically to see whether a pharmacy or provider has any leftover vaccine that would otherwise go to waste.

The state has moved down the list of those who are eligible to schedule a vaccine through “normal” channels: Once you are eligible, you call your health care provider and sign up for an appointment.

It started with the elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions. It moved to those 65 and older with medical conditions, then to everyone 65 and older, then those 55 and older with medical conditions. On Monday, everyone 55 and older became eligible.

Meanwhile, those who are fortunate enough to get a call from a no-waste list or finagle their way onto some other list — regardless of their age or medical condition — gleefully post their happy photos of getting their first dose.

At the same time, those who haven’t been eligible have sat and waited (not so) patiently for their turn in line. This was a time when playing by the rules didn’t work.

And now, there is no line. It’s headed toward a free-for-all.

It’s a little bit like standing in a long line for 20 minutes at the grocery store, then they open up several more registers, and everyone in line behind you jumps to the front of those lines.

Already, we know that people are making appointments and not keeping them. Some providers are better than others at managing their appointment systems. The state list has had glitches that are causing frustration for users.

It’s taken three months to vaccinate 390,000 Idahoans in a very haphazard, chaotic process, and now we’re going to try to line up vaccination appointments for 660,000 Idahoans in a month all at once.

Some parts of the state have moved through the first priority groups quickly and need more of the population to vaccinate, according to state health officials, while more densely populated areas still struggle with wait times. Opening it up to everyone will exacerbate the wait times in those areas.

Central District Health announced Wednesday that everyone 45 and older is now eligible, so that should help reduce the rush that’s sure to come.

We want to be hopeful about getting everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible, and some of this appears to be controlled chaos.

But if past performance is any indication of future results, we’re in for a frustrating few weeks ahead of us.