The province’s Minister of Health is addressing complaints with the process for booking COVID-19 vaccination appointments.

This comes amid reports of heavy phone call volume on health authority phone lines.

Health Minister John Haggie says this is due to confusion with the process of pre-registration and that those who have already pre-registered will be contacted by their regional health authority to book their appointment.

Haggie believes that the call for people to book appointments to receive the Astra-Zeneca vaccine led many in other age groups who had already pre-registered to believe they had been forgotten. This overwhelmed phone lines at the health authorities and prevented them from making calls.

To fix this, 22 government employees have been issued cell phones and sent home to make outbound calls. However, this comes with its own challenges, as the caller ID for these phones only reflects the number.

Haggie says people have been reluctant to answer calls from phones they do not know. As a result, over 600 people in Eastern Health have missed multiple opportunities to book their vaccine appointment.

For those who cannot be reached by April 24, a different process will be put in place.