By Tim Mastro

DOVER — More than 56,000 requests were successfully submitted as of 4 p.m. Wednesday after the Delaware Division of Public Health launched a system for individuals to request an appointment at COVID-19 vaccination events.

The state entered Phase 1B of its vaccine distribution plan on Wednesday when only requests from Delawareans ages 65 and over were being taken at the website.

The DPH said the COVID-19 website was slow in loading for some users Wednesday morning because of high traffic, but the website and registration were operational at all times. The first 33,000 requests came in before 10 a.m., according to the DPH.

Of the total appointment requests, about 27,000 were from New Castle County, 24,000 were from Sussex County and 5,200 were from Kent County, the DPH said.

The requests create a waiting list for vaccination appointments, and do not immediately provide an appointment time and location, which will be offered to requesters as they become available, according to a DPH press release.

DPH drive-thru vaccination events will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Delaware City and Georgetown Department of Motor Vehicles facilities, providing the first opportunity for those who requested an appointment to be vaccinated. According to the DPH, invitations to make appointments for these events will be extended today, with highest priority for the limited slots going to individuals with age and health conditions that put them at greater risk.

The system generates a confirmation email that the request has been submitted. Some individuals reported that their email provider sent those to Spam folders, the DPH said, so the DPH is asking individuals who did not get a confirmation email from their online submission to check those folders. After this report was initially received, developers made adjustments to settings to reduce the chance the message would be marked as Spam.

“We are really proud of the way the request system worked today,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay in a statement. “Now that we have requests from so many, we can begin through a process of getting them vaccinated. The first opportunity will be at our drive-through clinics this weekend, but that certainly will not accommodate all these requests. Even though people have submitted a request, if they get an opportunity with their medical provider or employer or pharmacy, they should take that. We are building a system with multiple paths to get vaccinated, and this requests system is a part of it.”

Step-by-step directions to register are:

• Go online to coronavirus.delaware.gov/vaccine. Under “Where can I get vaccinated if I am in Phase 1B,” click “Find Out Where to Get Vaccinated.”

• Scroll down to “In Phase 1B? See below to find out where you can get the vaccine.” Select “vaccination events.”

• Click “65+ Request Appointment Here.” This will bring Delawareans to a new page. Click “Get started.” Delawareans will see a “COVID-19 Vaccination Events: Request for Appointment” and see a form. It’ll ask for date of birth, email addresses, pre-existing conditions, etc.

• Fill out the form and click submit. A confirmation should be sent to your email. Check your junk email if you don’t see an email come through.

Email invitations to create an account and schedule an appointment will come from VAMS, the Vaccine Administration Management System created by the Centers for Disease Control for use in multiple states. It will contain an individualized link and instructions.

Because it is a national product that has been used in previous phases, the emails issued today may say “Your organization or employer designated you in a priority group for vaccination” even though people submitted their own requests.

Those without internet access can request an appointment by calling 1-833-643-1715 and a call center operator can assist with making the initial request. Vaccine requests through the call center are not available for anyone under age 65.

Staffing at the call center was increased to handle additional volume on Wednesday. While wait times at the call center to speak to an operator were higher Wednesday morning, the DPH said that decreased to four minutes by early afternoon.

Phase 1B includes vaccinating persons 65 and older, as well as frontline essential workers. Approximately 200,000 Delawareans are eligible for vaccination in this phase, which will focus heavily on treating those 65 and older first. Vaccines available through pharmacies are currently only for persons 65 and older, but will likely to be available to Phase 1B essential workers in the coming weeks.

Delaware had received 86,925 doses of vaccine from the federal government, as of Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.

Of those doses, 49,873 have been administered and 37,052 doses remain in inventory. However, the DPH states more doses have been administered than are showing up on its vaccine tracker due to health care provider delays in reporting doses administered to DelVAX. Doses remaining, therefore, are likely to be lower than is shown, according to the DPH.

Delaware has recorded a total of 71,775 positive COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday at 6 p.m., with 1,026 COVID-19-related deaths after 461 new positive cases and five new deaths were reported by the DPH Wednesday. COVID-19 hospitalizations remain elevated at 456 with 53 considered critical.