RE: WA HEALTH and Vaccine Appointment Location Information

Dear WA HEALTH Partners:

WA HEALTH continues to support the state’s vaccine response effort. This email contains important information for COVID-19 vaccine sites as it pertains to vaccine appointment information provided on Vaccine Locator. Your attention to this information will ensure the public continues to have access to timely information regarding vaccine appointment availability.

We appreciate your ongoing support to ensure the residents of Washington State have timely access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Regards,

DOH WA HEALTH & Vaccine Team

 

*Please access the WA HEALTH portal using only Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Firefox browsers. Internet Explorer is not compatible and will cause issues in the user’s experience.*

COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment Information

Vaccine Appointment Information – Vaccine Locator relies on three sources of information to provide the most recent vaccine appointment information to the public. The gold standard is to have a direct connection (API) with Vaccine Locator. If an API is not established, WA HEALTH and COVIDWA.com provide information based on available data. If you are interested in streamlining the process and developing an API connection please contact Walter Thorn, walter.thorn@protastudios.com.

We are also working on some changes to Vaccine Locator that will go live very soon to ensure the changes you make to WA HEALTH show up in Vaccine Locator. Specifically, Name, Address, email, phone, website URL, Scheduling Preference, and Vaccine Type provided.

Keeping Information Current – To ensure the public has access to the most accurate information in Vaccine Locator, data in WA HEALTH may be overwritten if not updated at least every 72 hours. The goal here is to ensure information remains fresh and relevant for the public. If you are managing vaccine appointment information in WA HEALTH, please review and update your information (in the “Therapeutics/Vaccines” page) at least every 72 hours. For more information, please refer to the Onboarding Guide or contact wahealth@doh.wa.gov.

Vaccine Type – Starting April 15, everyone 16 and older will be eligible to schedule a vaccine appointment. Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for individuals 16 and 17 years of age. To ensure these teens can secure an appointment for the Pfizer vaccine we will be presenting vaccine type on Vaccine Locator. Please be sure to keep your vaccine type information current in WA HEALTH. We will be using this information in WA HEALTH to populate Vaccine Locator and ensure teens 16 and 17 years of age are able to schedule an appointment for the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccine type can be updated in WA HEALTH on the “Therapeutics/Vaccines” page.

Free Self-Scheduling Appointment Software – Washington State has invested heavily in PrepMod, an online self-scheduling application that connects the public to available vaccine and helps manage the appointment process and reporting. If your site is interested in using PrepMod please contact COVID.Vaccine@doh.wa.gov and put “PrepMod Enrollment” in the subject.

Updating Eligibility – On March 31, Washington State opened new eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 vaccine to Phase 1B Tiers 3 & 4. Eligibility will be further expanded to all people 16 years and older on April 15. Please be sure to update your respective vaccine appointment page to reflect the new eligibility. For more information please refer to Vaccine Locator.