Crews work to get Manitoba COVID-19 vaccine phone line back to full capacity

Technical teams are trying to fix a bug in Manitoba's COVID-19 vaccine phone line, the province says.

The hotlinewhich is the only way Manitobans can book an COVID-19 immunization appointment went down some time Monday morning, a provincial spokesperson said.

"Our IT folks immediately went about correcting the issue (still to be determined)," the spokesperson said. "In the meantime, the line is back up; but not full capacity."

The issue with the phone line lasted until mid-afternoon Monday. By late afternoon, calls were coming in intermittently,the spokesperson said.

Callers on hold are waiting for "minutes only," they added.

The provincial government will provide more information when it is available.

The phone line (1-844-626-8222) went down the same day as the age eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Manitoba expanded to include First Nations people at least 60 years old, and non-First Nations people at least 80 years old.

The ages each changed by a five-year increment, as opposed to the two-year increments implementedso far.

"Eligibility remains consistent," said the spokesperson.

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