Some COVID vaccine calls are being marked as spam. How can you avoid missing the call?
As Americans wait to receive COVID-19 vaccines, some phone calls about their appointments are being marked as spam.
Counties in Florida and North Carolina recently warned their residents that phones could display the spam alert, which often leads to people ignoring the calls.
In Florida, Debbie Bourne was waiting to hear back from Hillsborough County when she got a spam call and hesitantly answered the phone, WFLA reported on Wednesday. It turns out, the caller was telling her about a vaccine appointment.
“I let her know that it came up as a spam risk and she says, ‘Oh well that might be why no one is picking up,’” Bourne said, according to the TV station.
Across the United States, health officials are administering vaccine doses in the fight against the coronavirus. Some vaccination centers have been flooded with requests from people interested in scheduling appointments.
As they try to make a schedule, officials in Lenoir County, North Carolina, said some cellphone providers are flagging their number “due to the large call volume from our COVID-19 phone bank.”
So how do you make sure you don’t miss a vaccine call — and potentially lose your spot in line?
Manatee County, Florida, has urged those waiting for their appointments to save the phone number for the vaccine line. That way, they won’t risk the call being marked as spam.
Officials in Hillsborough County have also recommended people with appointments on the horizon pick up all calls, WFLA reported.
But that doesn’t mean you should throw caution to the wind.
The county said it people should never be asked to pay for vaccine appointments. Scammers may also ask for personal information, so you may want to contact health officials to make sure the call you received was legitimate, the Miami Herald reported in December.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 6:22 AM with the headline "Some COVID vaccine calls are being marked as spam. How can you avoid missing the call?."
