ODESSA, Texas — Odessa officials are asking for patience as they work through registration for COVID-19 booster shots. They want to make sure that everyone who got the first dose at Ratliff is able to make an appointment through the vaccine hotline.
If you tried calling the hotline and were unable to make an appointment, it's not because the line was down. Rather, it was busy. The hospital has received hundreds of callers a day but because of the large number of calls, there has been a backup.
"We just need everybody to hang with us. Just understand we know that you want to get it. We want to get it to you. We want you to complete that. That is our goal, but when 13,000 people dial 300 times, no system in the world is going to be able to handle that," Russell Tippin, president of MCH said.
Multiple employees are working the phone lines to get as many people registered as possible.
"Because of the large amount of call volume, we’ve added in a second layer. So we have people on top of those answering the phones and scheduling appointments. They’re calling from the list of patients that received their initial dose," Christin Timmons, MCH Chief Nursing Officer said.
In fact, you may receive a call from the hospital to get your appointment set up if you received the first dose at Ratliff.
"You’re gonna be receiving a phone call to say hey I see that you registered to receive your first dose at Ratliff on Monday and then say I’d like to go ahead and get you scheduled for your appointment," Timmons said.
The hospital also wants to clarify that if you end up on hold with them, they will not hang up on you.
"Probably what’s happening is they've been on for so long that it's timing itself out and it’s dropping the call. It’s not that employees are hitting the hang-up button. I think they're just on there for so long," Tippin said.