Summit County Public Health to use lottery system for setting up COVID-19 vaccine appointments

AKRON, Ohio — In order to help ease the frustrations that many residents are having in trying to set up a COVID-19 vaccination appointment, Summit County Public Health (SCPH) has unveiled a new method that they hope will make the process more efficient.

Starting March 1, SCPH says it will switch over to a lottery system that pulls a computer-generated random sample from the county's vaccine registry who will receive instructions on how to schedule an appointment.

"Summit County Public Health has experienced a very high demand of phone callsand web contacts alerting us to the challenges in securing a vaccine appointment," the department noted in a release put out on Monday. "Due to the extensive demand, our phone and internet systems have struggled to keep up during our weekly scheduling sessions."

Individuals who have already registered for a vaccine do not need to re-register in this system to be considered for the lottery. For those who have not registered, you can do so by clicking here.

Also, this new system impacts only those who have registered for a vaccine directly with Summit County Public Health. You can make an appointment at one of the county's other vaccine providers using the below links:

• COVID-19 vaccines in Ohio: How you can make an appointment at a store near you
• COVID-19 vaccine in Northeast Ohio: Here's where to find information on providers near you

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