How to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment

As coronavirus vaccines are rolled out across the United States, regulations and procedures for getting the shots might be confusing to some.
Each state comes with its own set of guidelines for who gets the vaccine and when.
To get information about your state’s vaccination process, Check your city or county’s health department website or call your local COVID-19 hotline.
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As of January 22, 17 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States, with close to 38 million doses distributed across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The first wave of vaccinations was fairly simple and limited to frontline healthcare workers.

But now the rollout is expanding, and the remaining 310 million Americans awaiting their turn may wonder when they can get that all-important first dose.

Here is a guide to finding your state’s guidelines and signing up for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Check with your state’s Department of Health website for registration sites and eligibility status

Not only does each state have different guidelines for distributing the vaccine, it varies from city to city and county to county, too. So it’s important to find your particular state’s rules.

Most cities and counties have COVID-19 vaccine information on the website for the local department of health. This website can give you information about what documents to bring to get vaccinated and where you can get vaccinated.

Some cities and counties will have official forms patients can fill out to see if you are eligible and indicate interest in getting the vaccine. Others, like New York City, allow you to make online appointments to get vaccinated at different vaccination locations.

Some cities and counties, such as Los Angeles and New Orleans, will have a list of hospitals and vaccination facilities in the area where patients can make an appointment.

Some states have COVID-19 vaccine hotlines to help you register

States may have an additional COVID-19 hotline to call with questions about the vaccine, like who is eligible, where to sign up, and where to get your shots.

Mississippi allows residents to schedule their vaccination appointments over the phone by calling (877) 978-6453.

Some states, including Maryland and Massachusetts, allow residents to sign up for text notifications about the vaccine to ping them when different priority groups start getting vaccinated.

If you are eligible, look for medical non-profits in the area which have sign up sheets for the vaccine

If you determined you are eligible using your state’s guidelines, your local health department website may direct you to a non-profit medical initiative like The Black Doctors Consortium in Philadelphia and Community of Hope in Washington D.C. to make an appointment to get vaccinated.

You can find these non-profits by checking the list of COVID-19 vaccination sites on your local department of health’s website.

It’s important to note these guidelines are rapidly changing as more doses of the vaccine are distributed, so remember to continue checking with your local health authorities for updates.

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