It’s become a familiar scenario for some: Logging on to a pharmacy’s website, trying to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, only to find none are available.

Residents in Phase 1b, which includes those 65 and older, who reached out to the Northwest Herald are frustrated that even after checking everyday, or even every hour, for vaccine appointments in the area for themselves or their families, they are still hitting roadblocks.

Pharmacies point to the limited supply vaccines, a problem many health care providers and local health departments have also cited.

McHenry County Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson told the county Board of Health Monday there’s not enough of the COVID-19 vaccine available yet to support all of the retailers offering appointments.

“The idea is that you should be able to go close to your home to get vaccinated, so there should be many, many options for people,” Adamson said. “There’s just not sufficient vaccine yet to support this.”

Michael Aberle, of Wonder Lake, was eventually able to get his elderly father a vaccine appointment through Northwestern Medicine, but he said it was a challenge.

It was hard to get good information “without beating my head against the wall,” Aberle said.

He signed his mom and dad, both in their 70s, to get vaccinated through the McHenry County Department of Health, Northwestern Medicine, Jewel-Osco and Walgreens.

Most websites had a button to click on, saying that’s where people can schedule appointments, but after answering a series of questions, Aberle still found no appointments available.

“I’m sure people are doing the best they can to get this thing out there,” Aberle said. “I’m not trying to disparage Walgreens or any of these guys. I think they’re all trying, but it’s just been too slow.”

At one point, Aberle said he checked one website seven or eight times in one day trying to get his dad the vaccine.

“The main frustration is that everyone tells you to just get on a list and then sit back,” Aberle said. “And that’s clearly not how this thing’s getting parceled out.”

Most of the doses being administered by pharmacies are coming from the federal government through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership Program instead of being routed through the state and then the local health department. The state of Illinois also has its own partnership with Walgreens.

Appointments for these vaccines are made through the individual pharmacy companies, which include 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among those are Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Walmart, Costco, Jewel-Osco and other Albertsons Companies’ stores, and Meijer.

Walgreens’ aim is to ensure patients are able to receive vaccinations as soon as possible “in this fluid situation during which vaccine inventory remains limited,” a corporate spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Walgreens said it is working with the state to make sure people receive second doses of the two-dose vaccine as additional inventory becomes available.

“We share the enthusiasm of the nation in getting as many people vaccinated as quickly and safely as possible,” Walgreens said.

With the move into Phase 1b, Jewel-Osco pharmacies have seen a high demand for the vaccine, spokeswoman Mary Frances Trucco said in a statement. Their store supplies are based on state and local health departments and allocations to their stores, she said.

“We are adding appointment slots as they become available, and we kindly ask that customers avoid calling their store, as our teams are focused on serving patients,” Trucco said.

The McHenry County Department of Health also has a partnership with a few local pharmacies, where they have agreements in place stating that the pharmacies will help the health department vaccinate whatever population the county is currently prioritizing.

These partnerships are with the Jewel-Osco locations in Crystal Lake and Cary, as well as the Meijer locations in Algonquin and McHenry.

To get vaccinated with these doses, people must register with the McHenry County Department of Health where they identify what phase of the rollout they fall into and for what reason, for example, age, job or health condition.

The health department then sends emails to people based on the priority group they fall into, said Lindsey Salvatelli, the spokeswoman for the McHenry County Department of Health. Because more people fall into any priority groups than appointments exist, email addresses are selected randomly by a computer-generated program.

“Links shared by MCDH are only being sent to those who are currently eligible to receive a vaccine at an MCDH-run clinic,” Salvatelli said in an email. Those currently eligible are Phase 1a, first responders and people who are 65 and older.

The McHenry County Department of Health is also planning for the mass vaccination of seniors, Adamson said in an interview last week. The preparation of a facility in McHenry will allow them to do that, she said. However, everything hinges on more vaccine supplies coming in.

With more vaccine doses coming, more places will be available where people can get vaccinated, Adamson said. Mass vaccination clinics will get larger, and more vaccines will be administered.

Ed Gogol, a 67-year-old Crystal Lake resident, would go to Walgreens and Jewel’s websites every few days to sign up, and never saw any appointments available, he told the Northwest Herald earlier this month.

“You can’t complete the sign-up process,” Gogol said. “You go through it, and it just tells you there are no appointments. You just have to keep trying.”

Gogol said he is lucky to be able to work from home. But still, he wants to get vaccinated because of the severity of COVID-19.

“I don’t want my loved ones to get it,” Gogol said. “I have known some people who have had it. I have known some people who have died from it. It’s a horrible, horrible bug.”

Here’s what you need to know to get vaccinated

Who can get a vaccine currently?

The state of Illinois expanded Phase 1b Thursday to include individuals older than 16 years of age who have comorbidities and preexisting conditions.

Phase 1b already included: first responders, day care workers, corrections officers and inmates, food and agriculture workers, postal service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, educators and support staff, shelters and adult day care workers and those age 65 and older.

The McHenry County Department of Health is still administering vaccines to those in Phase 1a and is also prioritizing those 65 and older within Phase 1b.

Where do I need to sign up?

In order to receive appointment emails from the county health department, McHenry County residents and employers need to register online at bit.ly/MCDHCovidVaccine.

Appointment emails, sent after registration, will include information on how to schedule an appointment once clinics become available.

Residents can also call the COVID-19 Call Center at (815) 334- 4045 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The county health department has a COVID-19 vaccine locator page to help residents become find vaccine opportunities in McHenry County at http://bit.ly/MCDHFindVaccine. The page will be updated as new locations are added.

What about the pharmacies?

Registration portals vary by pharmacy and location. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, limited vaccine is offered to several locations across the state, including 11 Walgreens locations in McHenry County.

Those are eligible for vaccination in their state and are interested in getting vaccinated at Walgreens can go to Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine to find out if vaccine is available and to make appointments for both doses at the same time.

Information about vaccines at Jewel-Osco can be found at JewelOsco.com/pharmacy/covid-19.html.

Meijer has a registration page set up at https://clinic.meijer.com/register/CL0001. When Meijer has vaccines available, it will text the enrolled person an invite link with available clinic dates and times.