This article has been updated.
The City of San Antonio officially launched a COVID-19 vaccine waitlist Wednesday to help residents secure an appointment with University Health, UT Health San Antonio, Metro Health, or WellMed.
In its pilot stage, the waitlist is open to all adults who reside in Texas. However, priority will be given to individuals who are 65 or older. The waitlist is the result of a partnership between the City and Healthcare Access San Antonio (HASA), a nonprofit community health organization.
“Many San Antonians have been frustrated in their efforts to get a vaccine appointment, and the registry will give them assurance that they are in line for a vaccine,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg told the San Antonio Report Wednesday.
Residents can sign up to get on the waitlist by clicking here, by calling 311 and selecting option eight, or by calling 210-207-6000 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily and speaking with an operator. A Spanish version of the website is available here.
The phone-in options are intended to help residents age 65 or older who don’t have access to the internet, HASA Chief Operating Officer Jim Hoag said. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Hoag said approximately 1,375 people have already signed up to be on the waitlist.
Once on the site, residents are instructed to provide their first and last names, date of birth, street address, whether they are a Texas resident, a phone number and email address, if they have any underlying health conditions, and if they need transportation to a vaccine site.
The waitlist is only open to Texas residents. After registering, residents are supposed to receive a confirmation email confirming their placement on the waitlist. A participating local provider will contact the resident by email or phone to schedule an appointment. Participating providers include University Health, UT Health San Antonio, Metro Health, and WellMed.
Depending on vaccine availability, it’s possible residents might have to wait several weeks to get an appointment, the City said in a statement Wednesday. Many other providers, including pharmacies, and medical practices, are also still operating their own online appointment systems and will continue to do so. Residents who want to be vaccinated should continue to look for available vaccines at those providers, the City said.
The move to embrace a vaccine registry comes after Texas expanded vaccine eligibility to all residents 16 and older, City Manager Erik Walsh has said. That new guideline made scheduling vaccination appointments more difficult for older people and those without internet access, he said. Earlier this year, local officials declined to establish a registry.
City Council members voted unanimously late last month to allow City staff to finalize an agreement with HASA to establish a registry system that providers can consult when determining vaccine recipients.
As of earlier this week, nearly a quarter of Bexar County residents old enough to get the shot have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
For more information on COVID-19, please visit covid19.sanantonio.gov.
