CLEVELAND — All Ohio adults will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine over the next few days, which means millions of people will be trying to claim appointments.
So how you can work around the crowd and snag a spot?
The local duo, Vaccine Queens, has a few tips.
Despite possible booking dead ends, Marla Zwinggi and Stacey Bene are optimistic as they say there are appointments available if you look in the right places.
“We really encourage people not to give up. There are appointments out there. You just have to be tenacious about it,” said Zwinggi.
Though the duo admits the “the path to vaccine has been very difficult.” They say the state could have been more strategic.
“There’s a lot of gray area in this area as it rolls out from the state of Ohio,” said Zwinggi. “We feel that if 40-year-olds were opened on Friday, then it probably would have been the best idea for the state to announce that on Friday to eliminate any confusion for those age groups…right now it really feels sort of like dangling the carrot in front of the horse and you're saying there's a vaccine here, but you can't access it until Friday. It is sort of a very scary thought.”
Following guidance from the Ohio Department of Health, the two suggest searching vaccine provider sites consistently.
“Every system is different and requires different things of you, different information. They all run differently. They all post appointments differently,” Bene explained.
For Giant Eagle, Zwinggi and Bene suggest searching in the morning between 8:50 a.m. and 9 a.m. With Rite Aid, your best bet is at night. They say appointments typically show around midnight.
The same goes for Walmart. Rite aid also has a Vaxx Max tab where you can search availability in nearby cities.
Finally, when it comes to CVS, try searching just before 7 a.m.
If there are no appointments showing on these sites, keep refreshing your browser. The duo says eventually a time slot will pop up.
“Do not hesitate. Just grab that time and enter your information in and you're good to go,” said Zwingg
For more tips or to get answers to specific questions, click here.
Other providers are continuing to provide vaccinations as well.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health is offering services two to three times a week.
The Cleveland Clinic is another option. You can check with your health care provider to see if you're able to get the shot through your hospital.
RELATED: All Ohioans 16 and older can get the vaccine beginning March 29