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About three hours after first dialing Island Health’s call centre to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for her elderly parents this morning, Terry Lisson was still trying to get through.

“I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to have everything ready,” said Lisson. She called a couple of minutes before 7 a.m. just to test out the number and heard a recorded message. Fair enough.

Lisson called back at 7 a.m. and “got the same message” with respect to high call volumes. Other times the phone has gone straight to a busy signal, and other times a message offered up other times when people can call.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” she said.

Lisson said her sister-in-law, calling for her parents, dialed in for an hour and 20 minutes after which her call was answered and she was put on hold another 56 minutes to book an appointment. Despite that wait, Lisson said her sister-in-law has done a lot better than she has done.

“I haven’t even been able to get accepted to go on hold,” said Lisson. “I just get the message they are experiencing high call volumes so please try again — for three straight hours.”

Only non-Indigenous people age 90 and older and Indigenous people age 65 and older are able to make appointments this week.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said there are only about 82,000 people in B.C. who fall into those groups.

“In the first 2 1/2 hours we had 1.7 million calls, so obviously we’re getting called beyond that group of people,” said Dix, explaining some people are calling several times, while others are likely calling outside their age group.

The province has staggered the call-in dates in hopes that people will call only when it’s their turn, rather than risk crashing the call lines, as has happened in other jurisdictions when their call centres first opened. Island Health is also asking families to ensure only one person is calling to make the booking.

Island Health is reminding people that they have all week to call in and book an appointment. Vaccinations for this group begin on March 15.

“Remember that we have enough vaccine for everyone to get vaccinated,” Victoria Schmid, Island Health’s pandemic planner, said on Sunday. “Anyone who wants a vaccination will have the opportunity to get vaccinated. So, your turn will come, and we just need everyone to be patient right now.”

Island Health has a contingency plan in place in case call centre volumes are consistently high including extra call agents to staff phones, and an online registration system — planned for later in the vaccination rollout — could be used earlier if needed, Schmid said.

Lisson was hoping to book appointments for her parents today so they could be vaccinated on March 15 — which just happens to be their 69th wedding anniversary.

Don and Joan Hepburn, both born in 1930, were married in 1952. They live independently in a condo on Gorge Road. Their daughter, who resides in Australia, had to remain here due to the pandemic. She is staying with her parents and is able to help them today with the phone call to book an appointment.

“I can’t imagine when it’s the younger age groups and there’s more people [trying to book an appointment],” Lisson said.

ceharnett@timescolonist.com

> Were you trying to book an appointment for yourself or someone else today? Reporter Cindy Harnett would like to talk to people about their experiences. If you are willing to chat, send an email to ceharnett@timescolonist.com