PORTLAND, Maine — Walmart customers trying to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine through the company's website are currently 'experiencing technical difficulties', according to a spokesperson for the retail giant.
NEWS CENTER Maine started receiving emails from viewers about issues signing up for the vaccine Wednesday morning. Those who had tried to access the website were met with a message saying, "Sorry, something went wrong" instead of the closest Walmart vaccination site.
"The Walmart scheduling system is currently experiencing technical difficulties following a surge of appointments," Walmart said in a statement to our sister station, WTSP. "Our team is currently working to resolve the matter to have the scheduler back online as soon as possible."
Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew announced Tuesday that 24 Walmart and Sam's Club pharmacies in Maine will begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine through the U.S. Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
Lambrew said more than 1,000 Walmart stores in 22 states are receiving federal vaccine allocations this week, separate from and on top of the allotment states receive each week, with an emphasis on underserved communities.
The U.S. CDC said the program will begin with per capita allocations by each jurisdiction that will be divided among the selected pharmacy partners based on the number of stores and reach. As the program expands, and supply becomes more readily available, the U.S. CDC said allocation may be adjusted to reflect partner size (number of store locations nationwide), reach (percent of the total U.S. population living within five miles of a store location), and ability to vaccinate (throughput).
"This partnership coupled with an increasing supply of vaccines from the federal government will help us save the lives of Maine people most at risk of suffering and dying from COVID-19 and get our state back to normal," Lambrew added.
In total, there will be 24 sites in Maine.