El Pasoans confused over how to get their 2nd vaccine doses

EL PASO, Texas -- Over 100 people were turned away from the City of El Paso's George Perry mass coronavirus vaccination site on Monday morning after confusion over their appointment to receive the second dose.

People waited for hours in line thinking they had a second appointment although they didn't. When they were told to leave, many refused to go.

Cops were called in to come and disperse the crowd. A police officer at the scene told ABC-7 that the same thing happened the day before.

The confusion stems from the cards people are given after receiving their first vaccine dose. The cards have a date on the back that the city says is mistaken by some for the day they should come back to get their second dose.

The city says that date is just a general idea of when you can expect to get an appointment to receive your second dose. The city does not want people to come on the day listed on the card because they want to make sure there is enough vaccine to be distributed.

“Just give us an opportunity to call you, text you, or email you to schedule your second appointment," city spokeswoman Laura Cruz-Acosta said. "And so we’ll ask you, 'Hey, come schedule your second appointment, vaccines are in.'” 

The city wants people to know that they should wait for the city to contact them to schedule their second appointment. If you do not have an appointment, you will be turned away.

The process is different for people who got the vaccine from University Medical Center, which operates the county's mass distribution site at the El Paso County Coliseum.

People that received their first dose with UMC also got a card with a date on the back. The difference is that date is the actual appointment day for their second dose; people are told to arrive at the same time as their first appointment.

To help sort out the confusion, people need to remember where they got their vaccine. If you received the vaccine through the city, you will be contacted to schedule your second appointment. If you received the vaccine through the county, the card you are given is the date of your second appointment.