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Like many people, I took to social media last week to complain about how online reservations for vaccinations are being bungled across the country7xm, just as more Americans are becoming eligible for a jab.

I also made a testy call to the manager, so to speak, when I dialed up executives at Microsoft, which is one of the many vendors hired by state and local governments to set up the online appointment systems. I wanted them to explain why the website they built for Washington D.C., where I live, felt like the 1980s was calling and wanted its internet back.

My agitation — along with all the frustration expressed by many other residents of the District of Columbia — appears to have gotten results.

[Watch as Kara Swisher discusses this column live on Twitter.]

On Wednesday, after the disastrous tech meltdown that took place over several days last week, the city’s government said it would replace its vaccination scheduling system with one that is likely to be fairer to all, regardless of their digital skills. Officials promised it will be up and running next week.

Sadly, the tech mess in Washington is not uncommon. The Biden administration has been struggling to federalize a vaccine rollout that is hopelessly splintered. Complex and confusing eligibility standards have varied widely among states. And far too many different digital systems are being used.

“Every single distribution system is different,” a techie who has studied the various rollouts said to me. “We are building the same software we already know how to build well, over and over, but badly.”

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Calls for school crackdowns have mounted with reports of cyberbullying among adolescents and studies indicating that smartphones, which offer round-the-clock distraction and social media access, have hindered academic instruction and the mental health of children.

Overall, violent crime fell 3 percent and property crime fell 2.6 percent in 2023, with burglaries down 7.6 percent and larceny down 4.4 percent. Car thefts, though, continue to be an exception, rising more than 12 percent from the year before.

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