Deschutes County new vaccine pre-registration system set

(Update: adding video, comments from Deschutes County Health Services)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Signing up for a vaccine in Deschutes County may have gotten a little easier.

Deschutes County and St. Charles Health System now have a new way for residents to pre register for a Covid-19 vaccine.

Morgan Emerson of Deschutes County Health Services said they want to make the process easier for everyone. 

"Right now, we're trying to work on reaching out to people who might not have been able to get appointments before and have maybe have gotten frustrated with the process,” Emerson said Friday.

Pre-registration is open to everyone in Deschutes County and should be done even if you've filled out the previous vaccine interest form.

You can pre register at http://www.centraloregoncovidvaccine.com/

"Whether you're eligible right now or not, as long as you sign up now you'll be notified when a dose is available for you, when you are eligible," Morgan said.

To register with the new system, you fill out personal information, including your age, address, any pre existing conditions and occupation.

You will then be contacted through email or text when an appointment is available.

There is also a phone number that can be used if pre registering online is not preferred. The number is (541) 699-5109.

"With the system we were using for online scheduling, we heard a number of people were having issues scheduling appointments, and appointments filling up exceptionally fast,” Emerson said. 

The appointment filling slightly slowed down this week.

There are still vaccination appointments available this week, but appointments have to be made by midnight Thursday.

Any extra vaccine doses left over will be kept for next week, or given to pharmacy partners.

"We're committed to not wasting any vaccines, and those doses aren't about to expire, so we're not at risk of having any doses go to waste,” Emerson said. 

Local pharmacies also offer vaccine appointments through their websites and apps but not taking phone appointments 

Get more information at https://www.deschutes.org/health/page/covid-19-vaccine.