NHS Website Crashes Briefly Amid Rush For Vaccine Bookings

The NHS’s Coronavirus vaccine booking website experienced difficulties on Tuesday morning and reportedly crashed for a period of time.

The website crashed after the government allowed people aged 45 to 49 to schedule their coronavirus vaccination slot. The crash happened moments after the booking slots were opened, the Guardian newspaper reported.

The crash is the second IT setback for the government’s Coronavirus technology this week.

Apple and Google recently blocked an update to the NHS’ Covid-19 contact tracing app over a violation of their privacy rules.

Problem resolved

According to the Guardian, users on Tuesday morning had been met with the message:

“The NHS website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.”

However shortly after the vaccine booking website was hit by the technical issues, the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, tweeted a single word “fixed”, showing the issue had been resolved.

NHS Digital was reportedly able to rapidly get the website back up and running on Tuesday morning, with all issues being resolved and people able to book appointments.

People wishing to book their vaccine appointment can do so here.

Vaccine success

The United Kingdom, along with Israel and the United States, is benefiting from the successful rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.

On Tuesday the government announced that more than 32 million people have been given a first dose of the vaccine.

Jabs have been offered to everyone aged 50 and over, health and care workers and clinically vulnerable, meeting the government’s 15 April target ahead of time.

This group accounts for 99 percent of all Covid-19 deaths during the pandemic said the government, so by offering them the vaccine, it is helping ensure the most vulnerable are protected from the virus.