One of the chief complaints that plagued the early days of Idaho’s COVID-19 vaccination process was the need to continually search for available openings to schedule an appointment.

To help those vying for an appointment, the state unveiled a long-promised tool that enables vaccine seekers to pre-register for their dose. Idaho's new COVID-19 vaccine appointment pre-registration system launched Friday at covidvaccine.idaho.gov.

“The ability for Idahoans to get a vaccine, should they choose to do so, is my top priority,” Gov. Brad Little said. “The new pre-registration system is designed to take the frustration out of getting a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. It is user-friendly, easy to understand, and it was built from the ground up with Idahoans in mind.”

The tool enables those requesting a vaccine to enter their name, address, phone number, email and county of choice to receive their dose. Once pre-registered, a local enrolled provider will contact you when you’re eligible to make an appointment.

Three different dummy attempts by The Press all led to successful pre-registrations, and all under two minutes.

Katherine Hoyer, public information officer for Panhandle Health, stressed that the state’s new tool is a method to get on the vaccination list, rather than a scheduling tool. She said the local health district is still scheduling people through panhandlehealthdistrict.org.

“The state’s pre-registration system is not for scheduling, but for those who wish to sign up and wait for an enrolled provider to contact them,” Hoyer said. “Our system will still be necessary in order to schedule appointments.”

As recently as Feb. 1, openings through Kootenai Health’s and Panhandle Health’s online scheduling tools filled in a matter of minutes, with thousands of locals angling for any available appointments.

Hoyer said the new pre-registration system should alleviate concerns for those who are stressed about the prospects of getting left behind in the race to get vaccinated.

“This system will eliminate the need for Idahoans to check multiple sites or providers for available appointments,” Hoyer said.

The new pre-registration system is open to all who live and work in Idaho.