Neighbors –
Today, the District of Columbia launched its new vaccination pre-registration system, and over 52,000 residents and workers successfully pre-registered. This means that District residents will no longer have to race to sign-up for appointments every week. Eligible residents can now enter their information once and will receive an invitation to book an appointment when a slot has become available. Details on how to pre-register are below.
In other great news, 2,500 individuals received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this past Saturday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center here in Ward 2! I am also working to with DC Health to expand transportation assistance for our seniors to get to vaccine appointments.
In the coming weeks, we will continue to lobby the federal government for more vaccines so that all of DC can get vaccinated as soon as possible. For data on vaccine supply, administration, and more, visit the COVID-19 vaccination dashboard here.
Thanks for remaining engaged, and remember to please pre-register for the vaccine when you are eligible.
Yours in Service,
Brooke
In this newsletter, you will find information on:
- How to pre-register for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment;
- Who is eligible to receive a vaccine in the District; and
- How to request transportation assistance for vaccine appointments.
The New Pre-Registration System
Eligible residents and workers can now pre-register for appointments using the District’s new vaccination pre-registration portal.
To sign up, residents should submit their information through vaccinate.dc.gov or via the call center at 1-855-363-0333.
After you’ve pre-registered, you will receive an invitation to book an appointment via call, text, or email. For this week only, invitations to book an appointment will be sent on Friday, March 12. Going forward, invitations will be sent on Thursdays and Sundays by 10:00 a.m.
The Department of Health is working to ensure that all individuals, along with a secondary contact, receive up-to-date notifications regarding their vaccination appointment.
In addition, going forward, all individuals receiving the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations can receive their second dose at the same location where they received their first dose. If you have already scheduled an appointment for your second dose, please keep your scheduled appointment.
Who is Eligible for a COVID Vaccination Appointment?
At this time, the DC Health asks that only individuals who are currently eligible to receive a vaccination go and pre-register.
Those who are eligible to book a vaccination appointment include: individuals who are age 65 and above, individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 with qualifying medical conditions, and certain worker populations.
For a complete list of eligible population groups and qualifying medical conditions, please see the "Resources" page on our website here.
How to Obtain an Appointment and Administration of the New Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
Appointments may also be obtained directly through the following facilities. Please continue to visit these websites to learn more and find out whether the facility is only accepting former patients or new patients.
- Howard University Hospital
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
- MedStar Washington Hospital Center
- The George Washington University Hospital
- Sibley Memorial Hospital
- United Medical Center
- Kaiser Permanente members should visit kp.org/DCvaccine
Additionally, vaccination appointments are being made available on Mondays at noon and at 7:00 p.m. through One Medical for individuals working in- person for a licensed childcare provider or an independent or charter school located in the District. The One Medical portal can be accessed through an email sent from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to eligible workers which provided vaccination information.
Those booking appointments will see new locations serving as high-capacity sites where the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be administered. This one-dose vaccine is the third safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for use in the United States. Users will be able to see when choosing a vaccination site which vaccine will be administered there. However, please know that DC Health is emphasizing that all available vaccines have been proven effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. Residents are highly encouraged to take the first vaccine available to them.
We encourage you to sign-up for alerts regarding appointment availability at https://vaccinate.dc.gov.
Children’s National Hospital will serve as an access point for 16- and 17-year-olds with qualifying medical conditions. Parents or guardians can click here to complete the registration form and place their child’s name on the waitlist.
Transportation Assistance
The District’s Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) cover all transportation (free of charge), to and from, all medically necessary covered services and appointments. To request transportation, the Enrollee should call the following number to schedule the service:
AmeriHealth | Call 1-800-315-3485
CareFirst | Call 1-855-824-5693.
Health Services for Children with Special Needs | Call 1-866-991-5433
MedStar | Call 1-866-201-9974