Defective design by state officials allowed 7,200 unqualified Utah to enroll in the COVID-19 vaccine, officials say.

Allowed glitch 7,200 Utahn who were not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine A DTS spokeswoman said the weekend booking was due to a mistake in the design of a website created by an employee of the State Department’s technical services department.

The flaw gave credibility that rumors began to spread on Friday that the state had problems with scheduling and expanding access. Criteria.

“Our logic needs to have basic safeguards in place to prevent people who aren’t supposed to register from registering,” he believes that vaccines can be wasted. Riverton’s Dustin Walters, 38, who signed up, said. “It’s very frustrating that they missed a very basic step … it’s a big mistake.”

[Read more: Utahns sought COVID-19 vaccine in good faith. But their slots were a state mistake, and they feel vilified.]

System vaccinate.utah.gov Is the Technology Services Division and MTX Group, Inc. The new site was created by Tom Hudachko, Communications Director of the Utah Department of Health.

The user Current vaccine eligibility requirementsSaid Fudachiko. Over the weekend, Utan, who answered “yes” and “no,” were both sent to the scheduling system to make a reservation, he said.

Those who answered “no” were sent to a page explaining their disqualification and asked to check again later, Fudachiko said.

“The design flaw was that people who checked” no “in the eligibility question could schedule a reservation,” DTS spokeswoman Stephanie Wetelling said in an email.

She said the state design was implemented by the MTX Group and the state updated its design. No further investigation into the error is underway, she added. Weteling stated that “the design flaw was created by the country, not the MTX.”

According to the contract, the state hired an MTX group for $ 343,000 to build the site.

According to Hudachko, this was aimed at helping a small health department that might have a hard time devising an online registration system. Salt Lake County started using it late last week, and San Juan County is currently the only other county using it.

According to Hudachko, all 7,200 reservations for respondents who did not meet current vaccination requirements have been cancelled.

This is how state and county officials noticed glitches and their response timeline.

Salt Lake County began using the new system at the end of last week, said Gavemoreno, a spokesman for the county’s Department of Health.

The office of Mayor Jenny Wilson of Salt Lake County noticed a potential problem late Friday night in a statement Monday, said county communications director Chloe Moroni.

State officials at the Technical Services Department also noticed late Friday that many people who checked “no” in the eligibility question were able to schedule bookings, Hudachko said.

In Utah, people over the age of 65, and people over the age of 16 with certain severe or chronic medical conditions, and teachers, healthcare professionals, first responders, residents, and long-term staff are given the COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible to inoculate. Care facility.The state uses an honor system and is asking Utahns People who do not have a specific health condition on the state list Don’t ask for a promise.

Wilson “started troubleshooting immediately” on Friday and said by Saturday morning “it was clear that there was a glitch.”

The mayor began working with Jill Miller, co-director of the Salt Lake County Mass Immunization Department, and Gary Edwards, Secretary-General of the Salt Lake County Health Department.

The county’s IT team “was contacted and immediately began addressing the defect with the state,” Morroni said.

According to Wetering, DTS has begun working with Salt Lake County on what was originally supposed to be a temporary fix, saying that “only individuals with a Salt Lake County registration code will have access to the system.” .. The user needs to get the code from the Salt Lake County website. There you will need to confirm your age, prove your eligibility, and then use the code on your state booking site.

“We’ve involved her communications team to help messaging,” Moroni said in a post on social media about who is eligible for the vaccine.

The county’s social media push to reveal that vaccine eligibility hasn’t changed didn’t start until noon, a website glitch that initially allowed unqualified residents to make reservations. Did not mention or explain.

Wilson tweeted at 1:25 pm on Saturday. “Today, there is confusion about vaccine eligibility criteria. Salt Lake County has confirmed that the eligibility announced by the Governor on Thursday remains valid. It is for people over the age of 65 and has a qualified medical condition. For people aged 16-64. “

After 2:00 pm, Salt Lake County government and health department accounts retweeted Wilson, again reminding residents of their eligibility and eligibility requirements.

According to Moreno, the Salt Lake County Health Department’s communications office regularly monitors chats online to see if there are rumors that need to be addressed.

Moreno, after being previously notified of the glitch by the mayor’s office, Tweet According to a doctor in the emergency department at the University of Utah, it was posted on Saturday at 4:15 pm with “false information.”

“It wasn’t from our official account. We’re investigating,” Utah spokesman Kathy Willett said on Monday.

Moreno Quote an incorrect tweet from a Salt Lake County Health Department account, “If you do not have a qualified medical condition, please refrain from making a reservation. If you really think you are eligible to make a reservation without a qualified medical condition, you are at risk by canceling the reservation. Make the reservation accessible to people. “

By Saturday afternoon, state technology services employees had implemented a fix that required a code to make a reservation.

After 6 pm, the Utah Department of Health issued a statement explaining that there was an error on the site.

And by Saturday night, there was a permanent fix. vaccinate.utah.gov Currently, users are required to prove eligible conditions before signing up for an account and booking an appointment.

According to Moreno, the Salt Lake County system, which provides a registration code for booking reservations, is also permanent. “The state is very sensitive and the situation has been corrected,” Moroni said.

She said the mayor’s office received several calls about glitches and the county’s health department also received calls from residents. Some residents told the Salt Lake Tribune that the route was clogged and could not go to the department on Saturday.

If Utah sees rumors about vaccination or is confused about who is eligible, you should check the Utah Health Department website. https://coronavirus.utah.gov/vaccine For the latest information, Hudachko and Moreno said.

Hudachko said he thinks the “majority” of people who booked on Saturday are honestly answering questions and can sign up.

According to Hudachko, between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, about 1,000 people canceled their reservations themselves, and the Ministry of Health sent a notice to 6,200 people that their reservations were cancelled.

The email sent contained a phone number to call if the booking was canceled but appeared to be eligible.

According to Hudachko, there were 44 cancellations in San Juan County, with the rest in Salt Lake County.