A London, Ont., dad is asking folks to stop calling his son for COVID-19 vaccine appointments after the family was plagued with dozens of misdials from those seeking a shot.
John Tennant says the misplaced calls began earlier this week when the Middlesex-London Health Unit launched an over-the-phone booking system for COVID-19 vaccine appointments.
Health officials say the booking system received roughly 120,000 calls within 20 minutes of phone lines opening up.
Soon after, Tennant and his wife heard his son’s phone ringing off the hook. When Tennant asked his son why he wasn’t answering his phone, his son replied, “I’m getting COVID calls.”
“I brought his phone upstairs… and sure enough, it rang and it’s a little old lady saying, ‘Can I please book my COVID appointment?'” Tennant said.
Confused, the father asked the woman where she got the phone number, to which she replied the London Free Press.
“They read it to me, the phone number, and she gave me my number and I was like, ‘Well, that can’t be right,'” Tennant said.
“So I searched online and I found the font the Free Press used online is one of those fonts where it makes some numbers small and some big.
“So it looked like the last digits were 3500 when they’re actually 3560.”
Tennant says his son has received more than 30 calls in recent days, with the dad now tasked with redirecting folks to the proper number when they call in.
“I figured that’d be a little bit nicer than pretending to take their appointment,” Tennant joked.
“We have a good laugh with most people.”
Tennant adds that he doesn’t get too hung up on the misplaced calls, as he’s been working from home for his family business Ontario Wall Beds.
“If I’m on the line with a customer or something, it can get annoying to have the switchboard going on, but other than that it’s no big deal,” Tennant said.
For those who are seeking a COVID-19 vaccine, appointments are being offered to certain health-care workers, Indigenous people who are 55 or older, and anyone else who is 80 or older.
Appointments can be booked via www.covidvaccinelm.ca or by calling 226-289-3560.
“Unless they’re shopping for a wall bed, then they can call me,” Tennant added.