Wed
Jan 13 2021
08:41 am
State of Tennessee vaccine distribution incompetence
By: R. Neal

COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the State of Tennessee is, like everything else, shaping up to be a chaotic mess. The latest example is their appointment scheduling "plan."

Whose "genius" idea was it for the State of Tennessee to use signupgenius.com to schedule vaccine appointments in the counties that don't have their own health department? (Sevier Co. example.) Go look at their "about" page and staff profiles. Seriously? Bloomberg says their users "more typically organize potlucks, carpools and bridal showers." Signupgenius also says they are not HIPAA compliant.

Also, their site is secure, but they don't have their own SSL certificate. Instead, they use a generic, blanket Cloudflare SSL certificate that isn't issued to their own domain. So not only do you have to trust the State of Tennessee website to send you to a legit offsite URL (with no warning), you have to trust that site, and in turn trust Cloudflare, and that's assuming you even know all that's happening.

There's not a better, more established, more appropriate, more secure company? The state can't host their own or a third-party app? Who at signupgenius.com is the friend of Bill or the friend of a friend of Bill? This effort will fall apart when vaccines are actually available, any money spent on it will be wasted, and counties will be left on their own, scrambling to figure out something else. 

Update: Knox County is now using Signupgenius:

(link...)

Topics:
R. Neal's picture

Also, Knox County does not

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 9:06am.

Also, Knox County does not have an online appointment capability at this time. Instead, they have a phone number. Which doesn't matter right now, because they don't have any vaccines to schedule.

Davidson Co. is using a system originally developed at Vanderbilt and now used worldwide. It is HIPAA compliant.

Shelby Co. is apparently using Signupgenius.

bizgrrl's picture

I have some sympathy for the

Submitted by bizgrrl on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 10:30am.

I have some sympathy for the counties trying to take responsibility for managing coronavirus vaccine administration. I'm guessing most counties are not setup to manage such a project.

At this time the federal government and the states are letting us down. Small governments are scrambling. Very little preparation for distribution and administration of the coronavirus vaccine.

When I went to the State of TN website to find where/when someone from Blount County could sign up for a coronavirus vaccine, I was a little disturbed by the outsourced link to signupgenius. Seems like a low-end option for such an important project. I have at this time elected not to sign up using that method. So far, I think Blount County is working hard to serve the cities with very little assistance.

WhitesCreek's picture

Not Bill's first swindle

Submitted by WhitesCreek on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 10:50am.

Reminiscent of Bill's $8 million in masks that you could see through. Wasted money and dangerous at that.

Treehouse's picture

All the state computer systems

Submitted by Treehouse on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 12:29pm.

are a mess. The guess that it's a friend of Bill's is the best guess.

S Carpenter's picture

Blount Co used Eventbrite for

Submitted by S Carpenter on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 3:21pm.

Blount Co used Eventbrite for the first week or so. Ridiculous.

bizgrrl's picture

Hmmm... They learned quickly?

Submitted by bizgrrl on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 3:41pm.
(in reply to S Carpenter)

Hmmm...

They learned quickly?

Up Goose Creek's picture

Outlying counties

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 3:45pm.

Based on the crowds I've seen outside the Townsend Burger Master I've assumed a lot of Blount county doesn't take covid seriously.

So I'm thinking I'll go to Blount or another surrounding county when the time comes.
Has anyone experienced just calling the state phone number for an appointment?

Kinda sad to think one's life could depend on a website called eventbrite but I guess they are doing the best they can with no help from the Gov.

Bless their hearts.

bizgrrl's picture

Aw man, I didn't know the

Submitted by bizgrrl on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 4:49pm.
(in reply to Up Goose Creek)

Aw man, I didn't know the Townsend Burger Master was open.

Just kidding. We haven't gotten any food out since the beginning of the pandemic. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

A little tired of cooking. Frozen White Castles, dip dogs, onion rings and french fries are the togo substitute.

Up Goose Creek's picture

Burger Master

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 8:45pm.
(in reply to bizgrrl)

Not sure it's open in winter but they did a rip roaring business all summer with nary a social distance. I tried to keep my attention on the road but doubt I observed masks either.

Once you get your vaccines and recover from any side effects you can celebrate by getting takeout from foothills milling company.

JaHu's picture

I've gone to three

Submitted by JaHu on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 5:42pm.
(in reply to bizgrrl)

I've gone to three drive-thrus since March. Zaxby's in Seymour, Little Caesar's in Seymour, and Plum Tree's drive-thru on Kingston Pike. Is the consencous that drive-thrus are relatively safe?

bizgrrl's picture

Wouldn't know. Haven't

Submitted by bizgrrl on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 5:49pm.
(in reply to JaHu)

Wouldn't know. Haven't elected to test the theory.

Haven't done drive-through takeout or outdoor dining. Doubt we'll start now.

JaHu's picture

I admire your perseverance!

Submitted by JaHu on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 6:29pm.
(in reply to bizgrrl)

I admire your perseverance! We've had our weak moments.

R. Neal's picture

From what I recall, the CDC

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 6:00pm.
(in reply to JaHu)

From what I recall, the CDC says there is no known risk of food borne covid infection.

The risk would be exposure to the employees and patrons.

There's a possible (but deemed unlikely by scientists) risk of contact with packaging. Washing your hands after unpacking mitigates that.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, scientist, epidemiologist, virologist or any other kind of expert or authority. Research reliable info and stay safe.

JaHu's picture

I definately made sure I wore

Submitted by JaHu on Thu, 2021/01/14 - 4:05am.
(in reply to R. Neal)

I definately make sure I wear my mask and wash my hands after handling anything that has been given to me. When I buy groceries I now order online and have them put the groceries directly into my trunk. I've done this from the onslaught of the virus. Even then I don't take them straight into my house until after I've sanitised them by spraying or wiping them down on my back porch. It usually takes me the better part of an hour to accomplish this task. I then make certain I wash my hands afterwards. I'm pretty paranoid of this virus

Up Goose Creek's picture

Restaurants

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2021/01/13 - 5:31pm.

Snoring Bear in Walland has outdoor dining, Empire Garden and El Jimador at Brown's Creek are closer to home and have takeout.

R. Neal's picture

Update: Knox County is now

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 2021/01/14 - 4:21pm.

Update: Knox County is now using Signupgenius:

(link...)

jbr's picture

TN has third-highest rate of new cases in the US

Submitted by jbr on Fri, 2021/01/15 - 4:55pm.

As of January 10, 2021 -- Tennessee had the third-highest rate of new cases per 100,000 in the country. All of Tennessee's 95 counties were reported in the "red" with at least 200 new cases per 100,000, with all but four in at least "dark red" of having at least 500 per 100,000, and nearly half of East Tennessee in the worst tier of "darkest red" of having 750 or more per 100,000 in the past 14 days.

Latest White House Task Force report shows TN has third-highest rate of new cases in the US

bizgrrl's picture

I have trouble comprehending

Submitted by bizgrrl on Fri, 2021/01/15 - 5:30pm.
(in reply to jbr)

I have trouble comprehending why people won't wear masks. I visited two different pharmacies this week, one a major chain and one local. At both were young women in line not wearing a mask. 8n a pharmacy where sick people visit! What's up with that?

jbr's picture

Covid-19 vaccines given with organ music at UK cathedral

Submitted by jbr on Sun, 2021/01/17 - 12:32am.

Covid-19 vaccines are given with organ music at UK's historic Salisbury Cathedral

bizgrrl's picture

Ya gotta love the British.

Submitted by bizgrrl on Sun, 2021/01/17 - 5:37am.
(in reply to jbr)

Ya gotta love the British.

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