Chaos mars over-80s vaccine start in major German state

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of elderly Germans faced online error messages and jammed up hotlines Monday as technical problems marred the start of the coronavirus vaccine campaign for over-80s in the country's most populous state.

North Rhine-Westphalia, whose population of almost 18 million is bigger than that of many European nations, began administering shots to nursing home residents and staff last month, together with the rest of the country.

But people over 80 who still live at home were told they would have to wait until Feb. 8 to get their first shots in the state, even as vast vaccine centers set up before Christmas languished empty.

“Due to heightened demand, it's currently not possible to book a vaccination appointment,” many users were told as they tried to log into the website of the regional doctors' association, which is organizing the system. “Please try again later.”

Attempts to book appointments by phone were similarly futile, as many of the 1.2 million people over age 80 or their children flooded the hotlines.

The technical problems were an embarrassment for state governor Armin Laschet, who was recently elected the new head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union party, making him a possible contender to succeed her as chancellor this fall.

Laschet insisted that the start of vaccinations had been a success.

"Tens of thousands got appointments today, but one thing was clear: if a million people receive a letter and then call a hotline, there may be congestion and there may be technical problems,” he said, suggesting that people keep trying in the coming days.

North Rhine-Westphalia, an industrial powerhouse that is home to cities such as Cologne, Duesseldorf and Dortmund, currently lags far down the per capita...