THE SPECTATOR: SUBHUB NOT JUST REGIONAL
The Covid-19 Vaccination SubHUB in Washington County is being praised by government officials and those who received their shots this week and last as a great success. I have heard nothing but good things from the folks who were lucky enough to get through to register, and then received their shots. Congratulations to everyone involved in that process at the Washington County Expo.
While the actual administering of the vaccinations appears to be a smooth, efficient process, the registration process to receive the vaccine has been a nightmare for many. Though most people thought the Brenham SubHUB was just for the six county region of Washington, Austin, Burleson, Fayette, Grimes and Waller counties, it was actually open to everyone in the state of Texas. Through Tuesday, people from a total of 56 Texas counties had received their Covid-19 shot at the Washington County Expo. No wonder the call center crashed in the first few minutes of operation. Local officials say about 8000 people actually got through to either a person or a recording at the Call Center on that Monday, January 18th. Those 8000 people are now on the list to be called back as more vaccine becomes available. If you were unable to get through on the phone that day, you are just simply “out of luck” until the SubHUB works its way through those 8000 people from all over the state. Are all of those people 65 or older…or do they have underlying health conditions? “No”…as apparently there is no real screening of the folks that got through that day.
Local officials say they are considering an online registration the next time, if the State will allow it. Chambers County east of Houston did just that yesterday (Wednesday). No phone calls…no busy signals….just an orderly registration online. Hopefully our local SubHUB will get the “okay” to do the same the next time registration is opened. Last Monday reminded me of the days when you had to keep dialing your phone to get concert tickets when they went on sale. Now, even that is handled smoothly online.
And that’s the way it looks to this Spectator.
Well, with all these people coming from 56!!! different counties with no screening, I have to assume that some people were stopping at stores and restaurants, quite possibly asymptomatic, I guess no one cares if the residents here were exposed unnneccessrily and that there are residents that LIVE in Washington County that are groups 1A& 1B, that were shoved out of the ability to get the vaccine. I await with baited breath to see if our numbers climb in 2 weeks. Though, with the lack of concern for our OWN county, I don’t know if I can really trust any of Washington County’s statements.
We have gotten our shots and it is a very smooth operation at the Expo, kudos to all!
What do elderly people do that do not have computers to register? I have heard that complaint from several of my friends. Some say the caller talks so fast they have to listen to the message several times to understand what they are saying. Please address these issues with the proper authorities.
Thanks Tom, you have echoed my frustration. My other frustration is it seems like all the allocation for this area is now going to the SubHUB totally ignoring wait-lists previously established with local pharmacies. So even though I signed up at several pharmacies long before the SubHUB was created and since I didn’t get in the “lucky 8,000”, who knows when or where I can get vaccinated.