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I... think I'm in the pool
Jan. 26th, 2021 10:34 amThat was so easy and seamless I can't help wondering if I did something wrong. I went to the vaccine lottery site at 10am to scope it out, figuring that it would probably be clogged with traffic and planning to come back after 11 pm when old people are mostly in bed. To my surprise it was running like a Swiss watch. SInce I visited the site yesterday a big blue button had appeared labeled "Pre-Register Now!" So I clicked.
Next couple of screens ask for name, birthdate, contact info and some optional survey questions (race, sex, ethnicity, etc.). Then we have the challenging freeform signature box, which you actually have to draw into. This is really hard to do with a mouse, but fortunately I actually have a touch-screen laptop masquerading as a desktop computer. I use the touch screen so rarely I couldn't quite remember if I even HAVE a touch screen, but fortunately I do, so my signature actually looks vaguely like my real signature. However, it probably doesn't actually matter any more than what mark you make on the touchscreen when you use a credit card at the grocery store.
Then the tricky part: you are presented with a list of all nine of the "pilot vaccination locations" in the state and you have to pick just one. There are two in the metro area. When you click on one, a message pops up saying "Scheduling not available at [location]. Add to waitlist?" Same result for all of the locations, even the most remote one in Thief River Falls. I assume that what this is means is that this same screen will be used for direct scheduling of appointments once that becomes a possibility. For now, the only option is to get on the "waitlist" (really a random lottery, not a sequential waitlist). That's what I was here to do, so fine. The two metro-area choices are:
Not quite done yet, there are some final scheduling questions that bear a little thinking about. I chose the most flexible options: call me any time, sure I can come in with 1-2 hours notice. Why not? It's not like I'm going anywhere, and with the magic of cell phones they can find me even if I'm shopping or skiing or something. I'm hoping that being available at a moment's notice for evening vaccinations will make me eligible as a backup recipient for leftover vaccine at the end of the day.
I figure that my chances of winning this week are in the neighborhood of 1%, which isn't bad for a lottery. And the odds should improve each week as available vaccine doses increase and the pool of eligible recipients decreases. The number of doses released to the general senior population has already been increased from 6,000 last week to 8,000 this week.
Anybody else get into the pool so far? How was your experience?
Next couple of screens ask for name, birthdate, contact info and some optional survey questions (race, sex, ethnicity, etc.). Then we have the challenging freeform signature box, which you actually have to draw into. This is really hard to do with a mouse, but fortunately I actually have a touch-screen laptop masquerading as a desktop computer. I use the touch screen so rarely I couldn't quite remember if I even HAVE a touch screen, but fortunately I do, so my signature actually looks vaguely like my real signature. However, it probably doesn't actually matter any more than what mark you make on the touchscreen when you use a credit card at the grocery store.
Then the tricky part: you are presented with a list of all nine of the "pilot vaccination locations" in the state and you have to pick just one. There are two in the metro area. When you click on one, a message pops up saying "Scheduling not available at [location]. Add to waitlist?" Same result for all of the locations, even the most remote one in Thief River Falls. I assume that what this is means is that this same screen will be used for direct scheduling of appointments once that becomes a possibility. For now, the only option is to get on the "waitlist" (really a random lottery, not a sequential waitlist). That's what I was here to do, so fine. The two metro-area choices are:
- The National Sports Center in Blaine
- The Earle Brown Center in Brooklyn Park.
Not quite done yet, there are some final scheduling questions that bear a little thinking about. I chose the most flexible options: call me any time, sure I can come in with 1-2 hours notice. Why not? It's not like I'm going anywhere, and with the magic of cell phones they can find me even if I'm shopping or skiing or something. I'm hoping that being available at a moment's notice for evening vaccinations will make me eligible as a backup recipient for leftover vaccine at the end of the day.
- Would you want to schedule next week if available? yes
- Morn/afternoon/evening/weekend/any any
- How much time needed for notification 1-2 hours
I figure that my chances of winning this week are in the neighborhood of 1%, which isn't bad for a lottery. And the odds should improve each week as available vaccine doses increase and the pool of eligible recipients decreases. The number of doses released to the general senior population has already been increased from 6,000 last week to 8,000 this week.
Anybody else get into the pool so far? How was your experience?
