Calgarians face long waits to make vaccination appointments

Anyone trying to book a vaccine appointment by calling 811 could be dealing with waits that last several hours.

On Thursday morning, with 75 people ahead of one caller, booking a measles vaccination appointment involved staying on the line for two-and-a-half hours.

Normally, there is a call-back option, but Alberta Health Services says, "When call volumes do increase unexpectedly, Health Link may choose to purposely turn off the virtual call-back feature to ensure the call-back queue is responded to by the end of the day."

AHS says it has seen an increase in calls related to measles immunization and is taking steps to reduce wait times.

"Health Link is working with Calgary Zone Public Health to open additional appointments at large immunization centres. This allows for a faster booking process by removing the need for staff to review multiple community health centers for an open appointment," AHS said.

It's also recruiting and training more staff to help answer more calls.

According to AHS, the average wait time for 811 this month is 32 minutes.

The province says vaccination appointments can also be made by contacting your local public health or community health centre, although one caller who tried that was directed to phone 811.

Private travel health clinics also offer vaccinations, but you have to pay for the service.