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Gananoque woman faced overworked COVID-19 vaccine booking system for her grandma

Click to play video: 'A Gananoque woman struggled to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for her 98-year-old grandmother'
A Gananoque woman struggled to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for her 98-year-old grandmother
WATCH: A Gananoque woman shared her frustration trying to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for her 98-year-old grandmother – Mar 18, 2021

A Gananoque woman struggled to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for her 98-year-old grandmother.

“It was excruciating,” says Gaye Princ, as she describes the steps she took in securing a vaccine slot for her grandma. She was one of the estimated 100,000 people in Ontario who attempted to book an appointment on Monday.

“When I did finally get through to the page, I couldn’t book an appointment,” says Princ.

According to the province of Ontario, more than 75,000 people called the toll-free vaccine booking line to reach an agent on Monday and Tuesday.

“After an hour and eight minutes total on the phone waiting, I got dropped. I called KFL&A and they told me they couldn’t make any appointments,” says Princ.

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She was then directed to call her grandmother’s doctor’s office for a personal invitation code to secure an appointment.

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And then, Princ says, KFL&A told her that their computers crashed but the representative advised her to keep trying.

Click to play video: 'Ontario vaccine taskforce implements solutions to technical glitches on the COVID-19 vaccine portal'
Ontario vaccine taskforce implements solutions to technical glitches on the COVID-19 vaccine portal

After all the frustration and challenge, Princ’s 98-year-old grandma was successfully vaccinated Wednesday night.

Princ says all the hassle was worth it, and that her grandmother is feeling secure.

“We understand that residents of KFL&A are ready and eager to receive their COVID-19 vaccine. Our phone lines at KFL&A Public Health and at local COVID-19 vaccine clinics are experiencing extremely high volumes of calls. Please do not call KFL&A Public Health or any of our area COVID-19 vaccine clinics for appointment or eligibility information. Please do not go to COVID-19 vaccine clinics without an appointment,” says KFL&A in a message on the public health unit’s website.

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Health units throughout the province have reported overwhelmed phone lines and portal booking since its launch on Monday.

The system estimated a wait time of upwards of an hour within five minutes after its launch.

Click to play video: 'March 17th marks one year since KFL&A Public Health announced its first case of COVID-19'
March 17th marks one year since KFL&A Public Health announced its first case of COVID-19

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