According to a report from The Gadsden Times’ Donna Thornton, over 1 million people have called a hotline designated by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) to schedule appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Jan. 18.
State Sen. Jim McClendon (R-Springville) argues that effort by the ADPH leaves much to be desired.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show” on Monday, McClendon relayed his struggles with the hotline and called on state government to bolster its efforts and shore up the ability to respond to calls on the hotline.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on today that’s turning into a fiasco is the governor’s office published a ‘855’ number — a statewide number to call in for people over the age of 75, including yours truly, and make an appointment on the 18th of this month, a week from today, we’ll start doing everybody over the age 75, and the assumption is the other people who are eligible — the first-line health care folks have received their vaccine. Well, over 75 — that’s a vulnerable bunch and that number is no good. I mean, it might be good but you get the busy signal,” he said.
“We’ve got people all over the state calling this number to make an appointment for next Monday, and you can’t get through,” McClendon continued. “It’s pretty dang frustrating. Here’s where you need Amazon to come in here. I guarantee they can figure out how to handle it. But this is frustrating for people who are running scared. They’re seeing folks in their church die from this. They want to get this vaccine. I went over to my county health department this morning — St. Clair County Health Department. I said, ‘Can I get on your list?’ They said, ‘No, you have to call the ‘855’ number,’ whatever that number is. That’s a waste of time, so I’m hoping somebody is going to step up and get somebody to answer the phones, put in about 2,000 more lines or something. I don’t know what they’re doing but it is not working.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
