TOLEDO, Ohio — If you're having trouble scheduling a vaccine appointment, you're not alone.
A Toledo man says he spent several minutes trying to navigate the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department website only to be told there were no more appointments.
On Friday, 45-year-old Modesto Gomez was finally being vaccinated.
The father says it was tough getting to this moment because he couldn't make an appointment.
"My sister had actually called me and she said hey they're taking applications for the vaccine. You know, sign up for it. It's at the Toledo health website. So I did. I went online and then they asked me what time I wanted to come in and I picked a time and everything," Gomez said.
Gomez says he spent 10 to 15 minutes filling out an application.
But when he hit OK the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department site told him there were no more slots left.
"I was kind of bummed out," said Gomez.
Then he found out about the Farm Labor Organizing Committee Clinic in the Old South End where hundreds have been vaccinated.
"We're happy to learn last week that Dr. Richard Paat, who's our medical professional who engineers the teams, the medical teams, is now a direct provider. So in the past, we've had to take the leftovers of the other major providers and I think that's a big boost," said Baldemar Velasquez, president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee.
This means more vaccines and more appointments.
In fact, Gomez was able to get in for his first shot on the same day he called.
"It's amazing. I mean to be able to just call in and I mean it ... I didn't think I was gonna get in, in the same day," Gomez said.
The Health Department says it's changing its method of only opening appointments on Thursdays and will now open them as they become available.
"I think Toledo's gonna get it together. And I think the big push that we're gonna be making in May with the V Project is gonna be an important collaboration to get everybody vaccinated. Get to that herd immunity," Velasquez said.
It sounds like a big win for people like Gomez who can't wait to visit his sister who is fighting cancer.
"You can't go and visit her like you normally would. You know, especially going through something like that. And as a family, we want to be closer," Gomez said.
You can make an appointment with FLOC by calling 419-318-2191.