ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Donald Carson, 76, thought he was properly registered to receive his first COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, the first day Orange County began administering vaccines to seniors 65 and older.

What You Need To Know

  • Orange County started administering COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older on Tuesday

  • Some people have had trouble registering to get the vaccine

  • County officials say they will be clarifying registration instructions going forward

But when Carson showed up to the Orange County Convention Center with the barcode he received, he said he was turned away. Staff there said he needed a QR code, not a barcode, in order to receive his vaccine.

Carson said he never received any information about a QR code.

“I’m 76 years old, I have medical issues,” Carson said. “I would think that people that are in the same boat as I am, they would do a little bending to make sure we got that shot ASAP. Not the case.”

Kent Donahue, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, said people who register for their first vaccine will receive a barcode afterward — but that’s not the end of the sign-up process. Registrants must go all the way throughand schedule themselves for both rounds of the vaccine before they receive the QR code they’ll need to present at the Orange County Convention Center.

Donahue acknowledged instructions on the registration portal were confusing, and said they’ll be clarified going forward. He said CDR Maguire, the company running the portal, is making changes to the language at the DOH’s request.

“They've made those improvements in terms of language and text that’s reading on the site, and that process,” Donahue said.

Carson was able to reschedule his first vaccine for Jan. 19, which is later than he would have liked.

“Between now and the 19th, I'm gonna continue to be very cautious, in fact, maybe even extra cautious than what I’ve been in the past,” Carson said.

At this time, the registration portal is closed and at max capacity.

The Florida Department of Health in Orange County will announce when it is ready to begin accepting more registrations, Donahue said.

Molly Duerig is a Report for America corps member who is covering Affordable Housing for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.