Clinic Administrator Standard and Mobile Clinic User Manual

Your Role and Activities in VAMS

As a Clinic Administrator at a standard or mobile clinic, you will use VAMS to:

• Define and manage your clinic’s information (e.g., shipping address),
• Set your clinic’s schedule (e.g., operating hours),
• Manage your clinic’s vaccine inventory, and
• Add clinic staff as VAMS users

You have unique activities that only you, as the clinic administrator, can perform in VAMS and some that you share with other users. The VAMS Role and Activity Matrix below shows the tasks available in VAMS for specific roles.

VAMS Role and Activity Matrix

VAMS Role and Activity Matrix overall

Activity in VAMS	Clinic Administrator (CA)	Inventory Manager (optional) (IM)	Healthcare Professional (HP)	Front Desk (FD)
Serve as the clinic POC for your jurisdiction. (Typically, the clinic administrator serves as the clinic POC.)
Manage clinic information (e.g., shipping address).
Set and manage clinic schedule.
Manage (add, edit, and remove) VAMS users.
Place vaccine inventory requests.
Log vaccine inventory when received.
Reduce vaccine inventory.
Monitor clinic vaccine inventory levels to match appointments scheduled.
Search for and/or add recipients.
Edit recipient details.
Check in recipients.
Create walk-in recipient appointments.
Cancel recipient appointments.
Confirm recipient identity.
Access and review recipient record (name, date of birth [DOB], Prevaccination Questionnaire or Pretesting Questionnaire responses, etc.); add notes to record.
Administer and log vaccination (vaccine information, outcome, and waste if applicable) or administer and log COVID-19 test.
Search for, edit, and invalidate recipient records.
View vaccine recipient next-dose eligibility date(s) (if applicable).
Clinic Data Reports Access:
View and export Vaccination/Testing Administration Report; requires user to have both clinic administrator (CA) and healthcare professional (HP) roles in VAMS.	+ HP role		+ CA role
View and export Scheduled Appointment Report.
View and export Inventory-Vaccine Level Report.

Other role-specific user manuals are available within “Resources for Jurisdictions, Clinics and Organizations”. If you have questions about specific tasks in VAMS that are relevant to your role or other roles at your clinic, quick reference guides are also available on this page.

Clinic Types in VAMS

In VAMS, clinics are assigned to a Clinic Type (e.g., Standard, Mobile, Third-Party, etc.)

Clinics are then further assigned to one of seven Clinic Service types. These Clinic Services include:

• Vaccinations
• COVID-19 Testing
• Scheduling
• School-Located Vaccinations
• Field-Located Vaccinations
• Vaccines for Children
• Other

NOTE: If the Clinic is set up as a Third-Party Clinic, the only Clinic Services available for selection will be Vaccinations, COVID-19 Testing, and Scheduling.

To learn more about the different Clinic Services and Clinic Types within VAMS, visit the Quick Reference Guide for Clinic Types.

Roles Needed for Clinic Operations

To maintain clinic operations, your clinic must have:

• A clinic administrator
• A front desk staff member
• A healthcare professional

If you are your clinic’s point of contact (POC) for your jurisdiction, you will register your clinic in VAMS after activating your user account. Additionally, since the Clinic Administrator can manage inventory in VAMS, your clinic is not required to fill the Inventory Manager role, but we recommend it.

Roles: Frequently Asked Questions

This section summarizes the four steps you will take to set up your clinic in VAMS. Once they are completed, your clinic will be active in the system, which means:

• You or your inventory manager will be able to place vaccine inventory requests,
• Recipients will be able to schedule appointments at your clinic,
• Your front desk staff will be able to check in recipients, and
• Your healthcare professionals will be able to log vaccine administration.

Click on the buttons below to go to the corresponding sections in this user manual.

Step 1: Activate Your User Account

You must activate an account in VAMS to use the system. After your jurisdiction POC enters your name and email address in VAMS, you will receive an email with a VAMS registration link.

Visit “Getting Started in VAMS” for directions on how to create an account in VAMS. If you need additional support for your role or have questions about creating an account, registering for VAMS, or accessing VAMS, this page has answers to common questions.

If you are your clinic’s POC, upon logging into VAMS, you will immediately be taken to the Register Vaccination Clinic page where you will follow the instructions in Step 2. If you are not the clinic POC, you will be taken to your clinic’s home page in VAMS.

Step 2: Register Your Clinic in VAMS

NOTE: These steps only apply to your work if you are filling both the clinic POC role and the clinic administrator role. If you are not your clinic’s POC, you can skip this step.

What you’ll need to complete this step:

• Clinic name
• Clinic services
• Clinic type
• Primary address
• Shipping address
• Phone number
• Clinic Facility ID (required for reporting to CDC)
• Provider PIN (required to identify your clinic for ordering in VTrckS)
• Parent Organization ID (if required by your jurisdiction for HL7 integration)

Quick Tip: Most of this information may have already been added in VAMS by your jurisdiction POC, so you will simply be confirming it is all correct and making any necessary edits.

• On the Clinic Point of Contact page, confirm your information is correct. If not, make the necessary edits, then click Next.
  Note the fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
  
• On the Clinic Information page, confirm your clinic’s information is correct. If not, make the necessary edits, then click Next.
• Notes about clinic information:
  • If the incorrect clinic type was selected, you may edit it by clicking the Drop-Down Arrow in that field. You cannot edit your clinic type after completing registration. Be sure to confirm your selection is accurate before continuing with registration.
  • Your clinic’s Facility ID and Provider PIN are required to ensure your data is reported accurately. If either of those fields are blank, contact your jurisdiction POC.
  • The Parent Organization ID may also be required by your jurisdiction.
  • Confirm the time zone is correct for your clinic’s physical location or make any necessary changes. You cannot edit your clinic’s time zone after completing registration.
  • Primary and Shipping Addresses:
    • • Your clinic’s shipping address can be different from the physical address if you prefer vaccine to be shipped to another location. Both your clinic’s primary and shipping addresses can be edited at any time.
    • • Mobile clinics must have a permanent shipping address for inventory but can add multiple locations for their clinic. If you work for a mobile clinic, see Mobile Clinic Locations and Operating Hours for more information on how to add additional locations after you’ve completed your mobile clinic’s registration.
  • Review all information. If it is correct, check the box at the bottom left of the screen, then click Next. If you want to make edits, click Previous.

Clinic Registration: Frequently Asked Questions

CONGRATULATIONS!

Your clinic is now active in VAMS!

• Click the View Portal button, then click the Clinic Setup tab to begin Step 3: Set Up Your Clinic’s Schedule in VAMS.
  NOTE: After registering your clinic in VAMS, it shows as “active” to your jurisdiction POC in the system. However, it is not visible to recipients until your clinic’s schedule is set up in VAMS.

Step 3: Set Up Your Clinic’s Schedule in VAMS

What you’ll need to complete this step:

• Desired appointment duration at your clinic (5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes)
• Clinic start and end date
• Clinic operating hours (hours and days your clinic will be open)
• Number of vaccination/testing stations (referred to as treatment stations in VAMS). Each treatment station represents an available appointment slot based on the selected appointment duration.
• Operating hours for each treatment station (hours each station will be staffed on each day)
  NOTE: You must set up at least one treatment station group to make appointments available.

Quick Tip: Guidance on other settings in VAMS you can use to manage your clinic’s availability for scheduling is provided below. The steps outlined below are the minimum you must complete in VAMS for your clinic to appear in search results and be available for scheduling.

You will set up your clinic’s schedule within the Clinic Setup tab, which includes a checklist of items that must be completed in order for your clinic to be Ready for Operation in VAMS.

3a. Select an appointment Duration for appointments scheduled in VAMS

3b. Set Operating Hours for your clinic

3c. Create a Group of one or more treatment stations and set its operating hours and vaccine types available.

3d. Check the Available for Scheduling checkbox

Select Appointment Duration

The appointment duration selection applies to all treatment stations within your clinic and will determine how many appointment slots are available at each treatment station each day of operation. You can set the duration of appointments for your clinic in VAMS for 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes.

NOTE for mobile clinics: The appointment duration selected for your mobile clinic will apply to all clinic locations you add in VAMS.

Quick Tip: Your appointment duration should include time for patient intake, vaccine administration and education, and station reset for the next appointment.

• To select an appointment duration for your clinic, click the Clinic Setup tab.
• Click the Finish Setup button located at the top right of the Clinic Details window.
• On the next page, click the Edit button in the top left of the page.
• Select an appointment duration from the drop-down menu, then click Save at the top of the page. This will set the appointment duration for all treatment stations you add for your clinic in VAMS.

Set Operating Hours for Your Clinic

Now that you have selected an appointment duration for your clinic, set clinic operating hours to determine when you will be open for recipient appointments. These hours, along with the appointment duration and number of treatment stations active at your clinic, will determine how many appointments your clinic can accommodate each day.

• To set operating hours for your clinic, click the Clinic Setup tab.
• Within the Clinic Setup tab, navigate to the Clinic Location(s) window.

• • The Clinic Location(s) window displays the clinic’s primary location as provided during registration.
  • NOTE: Only mobile clinics can add multiple clinic locations.
• Click the Finish Setup button at the top right of the Clinic Location(s) window. This brings you to the Clinic Location Details page.
• Your clinic start date will auto-populate to today’s date. You can edit the end date by clicking the Edit button in the upper left of the page.
  • An end date will determine how far in advance appointments can be scheduled. If you do not enter an end date, the system will default to set an end date 365 days in the future. This allows your clinic to accept recipient appointments even if you did not manually enter an end date.

Quick Tips:

• Before you begin, plan the weekly schedule for your clinic, including which days and hours you want your clinic to be open.
• Operating hours can vary each day (e.g., hours from 8 AM–5 PM on Monday and 8 AM–12 PM on Tuesday). These hours will apply for every week (e.g., hours you set for Monday will apply to all Mondays; you cannot vary hours week by week).

NOTE for mobile clinics:

• Operating hours must be set for each clinic location you add in VAMS. Mobile Clinic Locations and Operating Hours provides detailed information on how to add new locations in VAMS.

Clinic Operating Hours

• Under Operating Hours, click the Add Hours button to add time slots for the hours your clinic will be open each day.
• The time slots allow you to break your operating hours into intervals to account for down time during the day (e.g., you can set Monday hours from 8 AM–12 PM, then create Monday hours again for 1 PM–5 PM to account for a shift change or lunch break).
• In the pop-up window, select a Day of the Weekand a Start and End Time for the time slot you are adding. The total number of time slots will auto-populate based on your appointment duration and number of treatment stations.
• Once you have made your selections, click Save.
• Continue this processuntil all time slots are set for each day your clinic is open.
• Once clinic location operating hours are set up, you can click the drop-down arrows in each row of the operating hours table and select from the options within the drop-down menu to edit or delete the selected operating hours.

Create a Group of One or More Treatment Stations and Set Its Operating Hours

VAMS uses the term Treatment Station to refer to a vaccination or testing station. The instructions listed below will use the term Treatment Station to align with what you see in VAMS.

• You will create a group of one or more treatment stations in VAMS for your clinic. Each treatment station represents an available appointment slot based on the selected appointment duration. No appointments will show as available to recipients until you set up at least one treatment station group.
• The number of treatment stations and their operating hours affect the number of available appointment slots each day at your clinic. For example:
  • Scenario 1: You have one treatment station whose operating hours are 8 AM–5 PM on Tuesday, with an appointment duration of 20 minutes. This means a total of 27 appointment time slots will be available.
  • Scenario 2: You have two treatment stations with the same operating hours and appointment duration. This means a total of 54 appointment time slots will be available.
  • In the first scenario, if a recipient schedules an appointment for 2 PM on Tuesday, they have taken the only time slot available at 2 PM because there is only one treatment station open at that time. This means no other recipient can select the 2 PM time slot for that day.
  • In the second scenario, the 2 PM time slot on Tuesday will be available for two recipients since there are two treatment stations operating from 8 PM–5 PM that day.
• Treatment station hours will automatically default to your clinic’s operating hours unless you set unique operating hours for a treatment station.

Create a Group of One or More Treatment Stations

• Navigate to the Treatment Stations Groups window within the Clinic Setup Click the Drop-Down Arrow in the window header to expand the window.
• Click the Setup Treatment Station Group 
• Enter the Station Group Name.
• Select the Start andEnd Dates (i.e., the dates you want the stations within this group to be available for recipient appointments) for your treatment station group.
• Enter the Number of Stations you want in this group. You must have at least one station in a group.
• Click Continue.

Set Treatment Station Operating Hours and Vaccine Types (If Relevant)

You can have your treatment station hours to default to your clinic operating hours, or you can set unique operating hours for a treatment station group.

• When initially setting up your clinic, clicking Continue after creating a treatment station group will automatically direct you to the Treatment Stations Groups. On the Treatment Station Group page, click Edit in the upper right corner of the Operating Hours window.
• Select Use My Clinic Location’s Operating Hours for This Treatment Station Group or Set New Operating Hours for This Treatment Station Group.
  • If you select Use My Clinic Location’s Operating Hours for This Treatment Station Group, your treatment station will inherit the same operating hours as your clinic location.
    • NOTE: If you are a mobile clinic with multiple locations, the treatment station will adopt the hours for each location that overlap with the date range set for the treatment station group.
  • To Set New Operating Hours for This Treatment Station Group, you will need to add operating hours by clicking the Add Hours button. A pop-up window will appear to enter the day of week, start time, and end time. Click Save to save and close. Click Save And New to save and enter additional operating hours.
    • NOTE: Treatment station group operating hours that do not overlap with the clinic’s operating hours will not create appointment slots. A warning message will appear if this occurs.
  • The system will calculate the total number of appointments. You can view more information about this calculation by hovering over the Information icon to the right of the operating hours table header.

You can define specific treatment station operating hours/days based on the vaccine type.

• Click Edit in the upper right corner of the Vaccine Type window.
  • Select which Vaccine Type(s) you would like your treatment station group to allow scheduling for and select Save.
• NOTE: Treatment station groups specific to a vaccine type will not be able to leverage the reservations tiers functionality. Clinics wanting to utilize reservation tiers must configure their treatment station groups to serve all vaccine types.

Viewing and Editing Treatment Station Details After Setup

• You can add additional treatment station groups at any time by clicking the Add Treatment Station Group button in the Treatment Stations Groups window (on the Clinic Setup tab).
• You can edit treatment stations after setup from the Clinic Setup tab by clicking the Name of the Treatment Station Group you want to edit in the Treatment Stations Group window. This will direct you to that treatment station group’s page.
• To change the number of treatment stations in a treatment station group, click Edit in the upper-right hand corner of the Treatment Station Group Details window.
  • Enter the new Number of Treatment Stations for this group in the Number of Treatment Stations in This Group field.
  • If you reduce the number of treatment stations in a treatment station group, a pop-up will inform you if there are existing appointments scheduled against those treatment stations.
    • Select Keep All Existing Appointments That Are Affected or Cancel Any Existing Appointments That Are Affected.
    • Click Remove.
• To edit operating hours for a treatment station group (if you set new operating hours for this treatment station group rather than using your clinic’s operating hours):
  • On the Treatment Stations Group page, scroll to Operating Hours, click Edit in the upper right-hand corner.
  • Click the Drop-Down Arrow next to the operating hour line you want to edit. Click Edit.
  • In the pop-up window, enter your changes.
  • Click Save.
    • If you reduce operating hours, you will receive a warning message asking you if you’d like to cancel or keep existing appointments.
  • To quickly view operating hours for a treatment station group, scroll to the Treatment Stations Groups window on the Clinic Setup tab and click the Drop-Down Arrow next to the group whose hours you want to view. Click View Operating Hours and a window will pop-up with operating hours for that treatment station group.
• To edit vaccine types for a treatment station group (if you set new operating hours for this treatment station group rather than using your clinic’s operating hours).
  • On the Treatment Stations Group page, scroll to Vaccine Type, click Edit in the upper right-hand corner.
• Select the vaccine types that you would like to add or remove. Click Save.

NOTE: Making edits to or deleting your clinic’s treatment stations will impact recipient appointments scheduled during those treatment stations’ operating hours. Deleting or editing operating hours will impact the number of time slots available for recipients who want to schedule an appointment at your clinic.

Check the Available for Scheduling Checkbox

Once you have completed steps 3a–3c, your final step will be to check the Available for Scheduling checkbox in the Scheduling Permissions window from the Clinic Setup tab.

As a reminder, the Available for Scheduling checkbox must be checked if you are ready to start allowing appointments to be scheduled at your clinic; however, note that it cannot be checked until all Ready for Operation tasks have been completed.

• To access the Scheduling Permission window, click the Clinic Setup tab.
• In the Clinic Location(s) box, click your clinic’s name.
• On the Clinic Location Details page, click Edit.
• Scroll to the Scheduling Permissions box and select the Available for Scheduling checkbox.
• Click Save.

Step 4: Add Clinic Staff as VAMS Users

What you’ll need to complete this step

• Familiarity with the VAMS Role and Activity Matrix Roles in VAMS include clinic administrator, healthcare professional, front desk, and inventory manager.
• First and last name and email address for each user you plan to add.

Adding clinic staff as VAMS users will give them access to perform their role in the system. The four VAMS standard and mobile clinic user roles should generally align with each user’s existing scope of responsibility at your clinic (e.g., the front desk user role has access in VAMS to perform the activities of a front desk employee, including recipient check-in and appointment management).

However, as the clinic administrator, you can assign multiple user roles to one user, giving them access to perform additional roles in VAMS.

• For example, a healthcare professional at your clinic should be assigned a healthcare professional role in VAMS. You can also assign the front desk role to that healthcare professional user so they have access in VAMS to check in recipients or create appointments.
• The healthcare professional role must be assigned only to healthcare professionals and other authorized staff because they have access to view recipient personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). Assigning a healthcare professional role in VAMS to a non-healthcare professional or authorized staff is strictly prohibited.

NOTE: Prior to assigning multiple roles to clinic staff, it is important to be familiar with the VAMS Role and Activity Matrixas it provides a detailed description of the access each user has based on their role(s) in VAMS.

Steps to Add VAMS User roles to Clinic Staff

• To add clinic staff as VAMS users, click the Clinic Setup tab and navigate to the Manage Users window.
• Click the Add User button in the top right corner of the Manage Users table.
• In the Add or Update User pop-up window, enter the user’s Email Address, and click Search.

NOTE: This feature searches to see if the user’s email address has already been activated in VAMS. For detailed information about adding clinic staff members who are already VAMS users for other clinics, see Access Multiple Clinics in VAMS in the Additional VAMS Functionality section.

• In the next pop-up window, enter the user’s information and select the Role(s) you want them to perform in VAMS.
  • NOTE: Prior to adding additional roles to a user’s record in VAMS, refer to the VAMS Role and Activity Matrix for clarity on each role’s access in the system.
• Click Save.
• After you click Save, a registration email will automatically be sent to the user with a registration link to set up their account in VAMS.

Quick Tip: After adding clinic staff, you can edit or remove a user by navigating to the Manage Users window within the Clinic Setup tab and clicking the Drop-Down Arrow next to the user you want to edit or remove.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have completed all four steps necessary to set up your clinic in VAMS. The next two sections will provide guidance on how to perform additional tasks in VAMS, including how to manage inventory, which must be added before your clinic can administer vaccine.

Now that you have completed the four steps to set up your clinic in VAMS, you can use the system to perform tasks such as managing your clinic’s details, schedule, and user access; communicating with recipients; and accessing clinic data reports.

Click on the buttons below to go to the corresponding sections in this user manual.

Manage Clinic Details

Access and edit information such as your clinic’s shipping address, your clinic’s Facility ID, Provider PIN, and Parent Organization ID, and deactivate or reactivate your clinic from the Clinic Details window within the Clinic Setup tab.

To edit any of your clinic information referenced above:

• Click the Clinic Setup tab, then navigate to the Clinic Details window.
• Click the Edit button.
• Click Save after you’ve made the desired updates.

Clinic Management in VAMS: Frequently Asked Questions

Deactivate Your Clinic in VAMS

To deactivate your clinic when it is no longer needed to administer vaccines:

• Click the Deactivate button in the upper right corner of the Clinic Details window.
• A Deactivate Clinic pop-up will appear and ask you to confirm deactivation. It will also give you the number of total booked appointments and vaccine doses in your clinic’s inventory.
• Click Deactivate Clinic to continue. If you change your mind, click Cancel.

NOTE: Deactivating a clinic in VAMS tells the system to:

• Send an email to the jurisdiction POC informing them your clinic is deactivated.
• Cancel all recipient appointments booked at your clinic.
• Send a cancellation email to recipients whose appointments are cancelled.
• Remove your clinic in the search results for recipients.
• Deactivate all vaccine inventory requests.
• Close all open appointments.

Deactivating a clinic does not remove user permissions in VAMS.

• Once a clinic is deactivated, you must remove each clinic user from the system following the same process outlined in Manage VAMS Users.

If you would like to reactivate your clinic, simply click the Reactivate button in the upper right corner of the Clinic Details tab.

• A pop-up window will appear, confirming you want to reactivate your clinic.
• Click Reactivate or Cancel.
• If you click Reactivate Clinic, another pop-up window will appear confirming your clinic was reactivated. Click Ok.

Manage Clinic Schedule

As you learned in Step 3: Set Up Your Clinic’s Schedule, the following settings and processes affect your clinic’s schedule and if/how it appears to recipients in VAMS:

• Appointment duration
• Checking or unchecking the Available for Scheduling checkbox to make your clinic available or unavailable for recipients to schedule appointments in VAMS
• Changing your clinic’s operating hours by editing or deleting time slots
• Adding or deleting treatment station groups
• Changing treatment station group operating hours

This section provides guidance on other settings in VAMS you can use to manage your clinic’s availability for scheduling.

• Set up clinic or treatment station group absences to define time frames during which you want to stop or pause appointments scheduled at your clinic.
• Set appointment rules to limit how far out appointments can be scheduled at your clinic and/or stop accepting appointments at a set time each day to limit same-day or next-day appointments.
• Set up limited service groups to limit your clinic’s visibility in VAMS to members from only select organizations you specify.
• Restrict clinic scheduling to the people or groups that are permitted to schedule appointments at your clinic: Recipients, Guest Recipients, and/or Jurisdiction Contact Center users.
• Allow for multiple dose appointment reservations so recipients can schedule appointments for all doses of the primary series (first and second dose) prior to completing their first dose.
• Set up clinic reservation tiers to reserve a percentage of appointments for specific vaccine types and age groups.

Set Up Clinic or Treatment Station Group Absences

Pause accepting appointments at your clinic without cancelling existing appointments or create an absence that cancels all existing appointments. During a clinic absence, the system will show your clinic as closed and appointments will not be available to recipients. During a treatment station group absence, the treatment stations in the group will appear as closed in the system, so the number of available appointments shown to recipients will not include any treatment stations with an absence.

To set up a clinic absence, follow these steps:

• Click the Appointment Management
• Navigate to the Clinic Absences window and click Add Absence to create a clinic absence.
• Enter the absence Name and Reason.
• Select Keep Existing Appointments to create a temporary absence that will not affect currently scheduled appointments or Cancel Existing Appointments.
• Enter a start date. Adding an end date is optional when choosing the Keep Existing Appointments option.
• If you choose to pause and keep appointments, you also have the option to select the applicable scheduling group(s) (Jurisdiction Contact Center or Recipients).
• Once you’ve made all your selections, click Save.
• All clinic absences will appear in the Clinic Absences window. Here you can edit or delete them by clicking the Drop-Down Arrow on the right side of the absence’s row, then clicking Edit or Delete in the drop-down.

To set up a treatment station group absence, follow these steps:

• Navigate to the Clinic Setup tab and click the Drop–Down Arrow in the Treatment Stations Groups
• Click the Name of the Treatment Station Group you want to create an absence for. This will bring you to the Treatment Station Group
• Scroll to the Treatment Station Group Absence window and click Add Absence.
• Enter How Many treatment stations the absence will apply to, the Absence Reason, a Start and End Date and Time (end date and time are optional) and select the Absence Type. Once finished, click Save.

Quick Tip: You can quickly view any absences set for a treatment station group from the Clinic Setup tab. In the Treatment Stations Groups window, click the Drop–Down Arrow next to the group you want to view, then click View Absences. A window will pop-up with any absences scheduled for that treatment station group.

Set Appointment Rules

Limit how far out appointments can be scheduled at your clinic and/or stop accepting appointments at a set time each day to limit same-day or next-day appointments.

NOTE: If you are a mobile clinic, these rules will apply to all locations that fall within your clinic.

• Click the Appointment Management tab.
• Navigate to the Appointment Rules window of the page.

To limit how far out appointments can be scheduled at your clinic:

• Click Edit in the top right corner of the window.
• Enter the Number of Days in advance you want to accept appointments.
  • You must enter a number between 35 and 365. This will allow appointments to be scheduled only for a set number of days based on your selection. For example, specifying a 35-day rolling basis on March 1 will allow appointments to be scheduled only for the next 35 days (through April 5). On March 2, appointments will be allowed to be scheduled only for the next 35 days (through April 6). This will continue until you remove your selection.
• Click Save.

To stop accepting appointments at a set time every day:

• Enter a Time you want to stop accepting appointments each day in the Start Time field.
• Select a Duration to stop accepting appointments from the Drop–Down Menu.
  • Duration options are available in 4-hour increments from 12 to 36 hours. For example, if you want to limit same-day or next-day appointments, you can set the start time to 6:00 PM and the duration to 18 hours. This will prevent recipients and Jurisdiction Contact Center users from scheduling appointments between 6:00 PM today and 12:00 PM the next day.
  • This rule does not apply to clinic users, who can always schedule appointments on behalf of recipients.
• Click Save.
• To remove these preferences in the future, click the Edit button, click Reset, and click Save.

Set Up Limited Service Groups

Establish closed PODs (points of dispensing), known in the system as limited service groups, to limit your clinic’s visibility in VAMS to members from only select organization(s) you specify. This means your clinic will only be visible in search results to members of the organization(s) you choose.

NOTES:

• You can only add organizations that are already registered in VAMS.
• You can establish up to 10 limited service groups.
• Your clinic will not be visible to anyone outside of the selected organization as long as your clinic has active limited service groups. If all of your clinic’s limited service groups are inactive, your clinic will be visible to all VAMS recipients.

To establish a limited service group:

• Click the Appointment Management tab.
• Navigate to the Limited Service Groups window.
• To create a limited service group, click Create New in this window. This will direct you to the Create New Limited Service Groups page.
• Name the limited service group (e.g., Memorial Hospital Employees COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic).
• Select your clinic’s name in the Location drop-down menu.
• The Limited Service Group Type field will auto-fill to Organization, which is currently the only option available.
• Search for the organization you are limiting your clinic to and select the appropriate Organization with the correct address from the drop-down list that populates. NOTE: Only registered VAMS organizations in your jurisdiction will appear in this drop-down menu. If the organization you are searching for does not appear in the list, contact your jurisdiction POC to confirm the organization’s registration status.
• Select the Activate this Limited Service Group checkbox.
• Click Create.
• Repeat this process to add additional limited service groups, if necessary.

To edit or deactivate a limited service group:

In the Limited Service Groups table, click the Hyperlinked Name of the group you want to edit. On the Group Details page, you can edit fields directly and deselect the Active checkbox, then click Save. Deactivating a limited service group does not remove it from the Limited Service Groups table. To reactivate a group, you can select the group’s Name in the table and click Reactivate.

To allow Jurisdiction Contact Centers to override limited service groups: If a clinic is restricted to limited service groups, you can allow Jurisdiction Contact Centers to schedule appointments at your clinic for recipients who do not belong to a limited service group. To set up this feature, navigate to the Clinic Location record by clicking the Clinic Setup tab, scrolling to the Clinic Location(s) box, then clicking your clinic’s Hyperlinked Name in the table. Click Edit at the top of the screen, then scroll to the Scheduling Permissions box. Under the Restrict Scheduling Groups header, select the Allow Jurisdiction Contact Centers to Ignore Limited Service Groups checkbox and click Save.

Restrict Clinic Scheduling

Restrict any group(s)—Recipients and/or Jurisdiction Contact Center users—that youdo notwant to schedule appointments at your clinic by following the steps below.

• Navigate to the Clinic Location record by clicking the Clinic Setup tab, then scrolling to the Clinic Locations window.
• Click your Clinic Name in the Clinic Locations table.
• Click Edit.
• Under the Scheduling Permissions section and Restrict Scheduling Groups sub-header, select any Group(s) you do notwant to schedule appointments at your clinic (e.g., selecting Jurisdiction Contact Center will prevent contact center users from scheduling appointments at your clinic).
• If you do not select a group, your clinic will be visible to all recipients and jurisdiction contact centers. Clinics are always visible to that clinic’s staff.
• Once you’ve made your selections, click Save.
• Note this is also where you can allow Jurisdiction Contact Centers to override limited service groups as mentioned above.

Using Search in VAMS: Frequently Asked Questions

Allow for Multiple Dose Appointment Reservations

You can enable and disable multiple dose appointment reservations. When enabled, this feature allows recipients to schedule all dose appointments prior to completing their first dose.

To enable this feature:

• Navigate to the Clinic Setup tab.
• Click Edit in the Clinic Details window.
• On the next page, click Edit and scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see a checkbox to enable or to disable Scheduling Multiple Doses.
• Check this box to enable scheduling multiple doses. The checkbox defaults as unchecked.
• Click Save.

NOTE: Enabling this feature also permits front desk staff and jurisdiction contact center users to schedule multiple dose appointments on behalf of recipients.

Set Up Clinic Reservation Tiers

Clinic appointment reservation tiers allow standard and mobile vaccination clinics to allocate percentages of appointment capacity by clinic defined buckets, customizable by vaccine type and age group:

• Vaccine types include: COVID-19, Mpox, and routine vaccines.
• Age groups include: All, 12+ Years, and 5–11 Years

Appointment reservation tiers also allow for first-come, first-served (referred to in VAMS as “free for all”): these are any appointments not allocated to a specific vaccine type or age group.

As a clinic administrator, you can customize your reservation buckets and reservation percentages in order to allocate appointment capacity.

NOTE: Appointment reservation tiers are only available for vaccination clinics, not testing clinics.

Specify Reservation Bucket

The first step in allocating appointment capacity for your clinic is to specify the reservation buckets. Appointment reservation buckets can be customized by vaccine type, age group, and to allow for use of Free-For-All (first-come, first-served appointments).

• On the Appointment Management tab, scroll to the Appointment Reservations. Expand the window by clicking the Down Arrow on the right side.
• Click View Appointment Reservations to get started.
• Three appointment reservation buckets can be customized. To customize each reservation bucket, click the Down Arrow in-line with the reservation bucket you want to edit. Click Edit. In the pop-up window, select the Vaccine Type and Age Group from the drop-down lists. To allow use of Free-For-All appointments within this reservation bucket, mark the check box Allow Use Of Free-For-All. Click Save.
  • By marking Allow Use Of Free-For-All in a Reservation Bucket, when all of the appointments defined within the reservation bucket are scheduled, recipients can begin to use the Free-For-All allotment on a first-come first-served basis to schedule any dose appointment (subject to clinic inventory availability).

Define Reservation Percentage (%)

Appointment reservation tiers allow clinics to have more flexibility in constructing their schedules and reserving appointments for specific types. The reservation tiers are rolling time frames (with day 1 always being the current day) during which the reservation percentages are in effect.

The tiers are based on vaccine protocol and allow clinics to set different percentages for different time periods if they anticipate their needs are changing. As clinic administrators update their appointment tiers, appointment availability will be updated in real time.

An example of appointment reservation percentages is as follows:

Edit or Allocate New Percentages

You can edit the default reservation percentages at any time.

• On the Appointment Management tab, within the Appointment Reservation window, scroll to the table with the tiers listed in rows and percentages reserved for buckets listed in columns (titled as Step 2: Define Reservation Percentage).
• Hover over a cell within the table you want to edit until you see the pencil icon in the right corner of the cell.
• Click the Pencil icon to edit the percentage set for the appointment type in that tier.
• Enter a Whole Number Percentage (e.g., 20) in each editable column for each tier. Press Enter or click out of the field after each number you type.

NOTE: To see another graphic that explains the tiers, click View This Infographic above this table in VAMS.

NOTE: You only need to allocate appointment percentages for the bucket 1, bucket 2, and bucket 3 columns when setting tier reservation percentages. Any percentage left over after adding up the bucket 1, bucket 2, and bucket 3 percentages will automatically allocate to first-come, first-served appointments (any dose).

• For example: If bucket 1 allocation is 25%, bucket 2 is 50%, and bucket 3 is 15%, the remaining 10% of appointments will be allocated to the first come, first-served appointment type or % Free-for-All (last column in the table).

• When you finish entering all percentages, click Save underneath the table.
  • Note: Setting appointment reservation tiers will not change previously booked appointments.
    • If your clinic already has booked appointments, it may take several weeks to see results of clinic appointment reservation percentage tiers.
    • In addition, setting appointment reservation tiers will not allow your clinic to go over capacity (e.g., setting a percentage reserved for bucket 1 in a tier to 50% when 60% of clinic capacity is already the same appointment type does not mean your clinic will book to 110% capacity).

NOTE: If you do not customize your percentages, your clinic will not have tiers activated and all appointments will book as first-come, first-served.

Communicate with Recipients

This section provides guidance on settings in VAMS you can use to communicate with recipients who have completed or scheduled and appointment at your clinic.

• Indicate which vaccines your clinic offers for recipients to see prior to scheduling appointments.
• Create an appointment note visible to recipients before/after they schedule an appointment.
• Send messages to recipients with scheduled or completed appointments at your clinic.

Indicate Which Vaccines or Testing Products Your Clinic Offers

Indicate which vaccines or testing products your clinic offers for recipients to see prior to scheduling appointments. These selections will appear to recipients on the Find a Clinic screen and Appointment Review screen prior to booking their appointments. Selecting these vaccine offerings is optional for clinics.

If you are a vaccination clinic and do not select any vaccine products carried, the system will assume that your clinic carries all vaccine products.

If you are a testing clinic and do not select any testing products, the clinic will not show up as available for scheduling.

• To select which vaccines or testing products your clinic offers, click the Clinic Setup tab, and navigate to the Clinic Location(s) window on the page.
• Click your Clinic Name in the Clinic Locations
• Click Edit.
• Under the Vaccine Products Carried section, select the Checkboxes for the different vaccine products you offer.
• If your clinic is a testing clinic, under the COVID-19 Testing Carried section, select the Checkboxes for the different testing products you offer (Diagnostic Lab Test – PCR [Molecular-PCR SARS-CoV2], Rapid Diagnostic Test [IDNow Rapid COVID-19 PCR], Rapid Antigen Test [BinaxNOW Rapid COVID-19 Antigen], or COVID-19 Antibody [SST]).
• Once you’ve made your selections, click Save.

Create an Appointment Note Visible to Recipients

Create an appointment note that is visible to recipients before and after they schedule an appointment at your clinic. Recipients will see this message as A Note from the Clinic on the Date and Time screen, below the QR code on their Appointment Review screen, Appointment Confirmation page, the View Appointment page in the Recipient Portal, and in their appointment confirmation email. This message will also be visible on the Appointment Confirmation page to jurisdictions and clinics scheduling appointments on behalf of recipients.

NOTE: Any messages you add will also appear for currently scheduled appointments on the recipients’ View Appointment pages in VAMS.

• To create an appointment note, click the Appointment Management tab and navigate to the Appointment Notes window on the page.
• Click the Drop–Down Arrow next to the clinic name where you want to add a note, then click Edit.
• Enter a Message with no more than 1,000 characters. You can enter both an English and Spanish version of the note if you wish. If you enter both languages, recipients will see the appointment note in the language they chose during their account registration for receiving VAMS communications. If you do not enter a Spanish version, all recipients will receive the note in English.
• Click Save.
• To edit the note in the future, return to the Appointment Management tab, navigate to the Appointment Notes window, click the Drop–Down Arrow to the right of the corresponding appointment note row, and click Edit. Make your changes and click Save.

Send Messages to Recipients with Scheduled or Completed Appointments

The Messaging window within the Appointment Management tab allows you send messages to recipients with scheduled appointments.

• To send a new message, click the Drop-Down Arrow in the Messaging window of the Appointment Management tab.
• Click the Send New Message button.
• Select your Clinic Location from the drop-down menu.
• Enter the start and end date for appointments for recipients you want to message. The start and end times will auto-populate to the time you are creating the search but can be edited.
• Select the Vaccine and Dose Type(s) for the recipient appointment range.
  • You must then select the Manufacturer(s) if you are scheduling for additional doses.
• Click Search. The system will display the number of appointments that meet your parameters.
• Click Message Recipients to send a message to all recipients with appointments in the selected time frame. To view a more detailed list of these appointments, click View Selected Appointments to see a list of the first 2,000 appointments in that time frame.
• When you select Message Recipients, you must enter your message in both the email and SMS fields and select when you want the message sent: Now or At a Scheduled Time. If you are attempting to message 1,500 recipients or more, you must schedule the message—it cannot be sent immediately.
• Check the Include Sender in Recipient List box near the top of the screen if you’d like to include the clinic administrator in the recipient list.
• If you would like to send a message in Spanish, check the box at the top of the screen that asks, Add Text for Spanish Speakers?
  • Enter the Spanish Version of your communication in the applicable text boxes that appear.
  • Once you’ve entered both Spanish and English text in the corresponding boxes, continue sending the message as you normally would.
  • VAMS will only send the language you entered in the Spanish text box to any recipient who elected to receive VAMS communications in Spanish. Please note that this feature sends exactly the language you entered into the text box and will not translate any text.
• Click Next when finished. This brings you to a review screen. Once you’ve reviewed all information, click Send Message.

Manage VAMS Clinic Users

From the Clinic Setup tab, navigate to the Manage Users window to edit a user record, remove a VAMS user, or add a multi-clinic user.

Edit or Remove a VAMS Clinic User

• To edit a user’s information or remove a user, click the Drop-Down Arrow next to the user’s name in the Clinic Members table.
• You can edit the user’s details by clicking the Edit button or remove the user by clicking the Remove button.
• If you edit the user’s record, click Save.
• If you click the Remove button, another window will appear and ask you to select the clinic(s) you want to remove the user from and confirm that you want to remove the user. The user will not be notified that they have been removed from your clinic.
  • Select the Name(s) of the Clinic(s) you want to remove the user from and click Next.
  • The system will confirm the user has been removed. Click Finish to return to the Clinic Portal.

NOTES: VAMS will disable inactive Clinic Portal user accounts after 60 days of inactivity.

To remove a user who has been assigned the clinic administrator role from your clinic, navigate to the Manage Users tab, click on their name in the Clinic Members table, then click Remove in the top right corner of the screen. To completely remove a clinic administrator role from a user’s profile, you must submit a case on the Help page as described in User Access Support.

Multi-Clinic Users: Add a clinic user who is already a registered VAMS user

You can add a user to your clinic who is already a registered VAMS user at another clinic. The system will recognize the user through their email address.

• In the Add or Update User pop-up window, enter the user’s Email Address and click Search.
  • NOTE: This feature searches to see if the user’s email address has been used to create an account in VAMS.
• If the user you are adding is already a VAMS user, their first and last name will be populated in those fields, and roles they hold at other clinics in VAMS are already selected for them.
• The roles they are assigned by another clinic’s administrator carry over to your clinic. Similarly, roles you select for them will carry over to any other clinic for which they are a VAMS user. For example: If you select the inventory role for a new Healthcare Professional, they will also have that role at all other clinics for which they work. Similarly, if you remove the Inventory Manager role from this HP, they will no longer have that role at any other clinic for which they work.
• After you add them as a user in your clinic, they will receive an email notification from vams@cdc.gov that they are identified as a user for your clinic, with a link for them to log into the VAMS portal. They will use the same VAMS login they use for other clinics.
• After logging in and accessing the Clinic Portal, they will see all clinics they are linked to in VAMS, including yours.

Clinic Data Reports

Within the Clinic Data tab, there are four clinic data reports available to standard and mobile clinics in VAMS.

• Scheduled Appointments Report: Contains data on scheduled appointments at your clinic, including appointment date/time/status and recipient information.
• Inventory – Vaccine Level Report: Includes data on your clinic’s current inventory, including total doses remaining as well as doses remaining by manufacturer and product. For SLV/VFC Clinics, this report will also include inventory funding source.
• Inventory – Audit Report: Includes data on your clinic’s total inventory, including total number of doses added, total number of doses wasted, and total number of doses remaining. For SLV/VFC Clinics, this report will also include inventory funding source. Accessible to all Clinic Administrators.
• Vaccination (or Testing) Administration Report: Includes a range of data on vaccines administered at your clinic, including recipient information, vaccine administration dates, administering Healthcare Professional information, and vaccine information. For SLV/VFC Clinics, this report will also include provider ID, funding source, and funding eligibility. The Vaccination Administration Report is only available to vaccination clinics. Similarly, the Testing Administration Report is only available to testing clinics.

Access to clinic data reports is dependent upon a user’s assigned role(s) in VAMS. User access for each report is noted below and below each report section header.

• Clinic users withonly the Clinic Administrator role assigned in VAMS can view:
  • Scheduled Appointments Report for today, next 7 days, and next 30 days.
  • Inventory – Vaccine Level Report for today. Note the Inventory Manager does not have access to this report since they do not have access to the Clinic Data
  • Inventory – Audit Report with only one file available. Note the Inventory Manager does not have access to this report since they do not have access to the Clinic Data
• Clinic users with both the Clinic Administrator and Healthcare Professional roles assigned in VAMS can view this additional report:
  • Vaccination (or Testing) Administration Report for data on vaccines (or tests) administered at your clinic today, past 7 days, and past 30 days.

Access the Reports

Access your clinic’s reports from the Clinic Data tab. Under each report header, click the time frame to view its data and visualizations.

Vaccination Administration Report

• Users with both clinic administrator and healthcare professional roles assigned to them in VAMS can access this report.

This report includes the following data on vaccines administered at your clinic:

• Clinic name
• Appointment address
• Recipient name (first, middle, last)
• Recipient date of birth, gender
• Recipient mailing address (state, city, street, etc.)
• Recipient phone number, email address
• Recipient demographic information (race, etc.)
• VAMS System ID
• Date of vaccine administration
• Dose number (first, second, etc.)
• Recipient Patient: Account ID
• Recipient insurance information (if applicable)
• Administering healthcare professional name
• Recipient record creation date/time
• Vaccination record modification date/time
• Vaccine information (CVX code, manufacturer, product, UoU, NDC, dose, lot number, and expiration date)
• Vaccine status
• Provider ID (for SLV/VFC)
• Funding source (for SLV/VFC)
• Funding eligibility (for SLV/VFC)

The Vaccination Administration Report can be filtered by date administered:

• Today
• Past 7 days
• Past 30 day

Testing Administration Report (COVID-19 Test Report)

• Users with both clinic administrator and healthcare professional roles assigned to them in VAMS can access this report.

This report includes the following data on tests administered at your clinic:

• Clinic name
• Appointment address
• Recipient name (first, middle, last)
• Recipient date of birth, gender
• Recipient mailing address (state, city, street, etc.)
• Recipient phone number, email address
• Recipient demographic information (race, etc.)
• VAMS System ID
• COVID-19 test type
• Recipient Patient: Account ID
• Recipient insurance information (if applicable)
• Administering healthcare professional name
• Recipient record creation date/time
• Test record modification date/time

Scheduled Appointment Report (shown as COVID-19 Scheduled Appointment Report for Testing Clinics)

• Clinic Administrators

This report includes the following data on scheduled appointments at your clinic:

• Appointment date
• Appointment start time
• Appointment status
• Appointment address
• Guardian first and last name and contact information (email/cell phone), if applicable
• Recipient name (first, middle, last)
• Recipient date of birth
• Recipient gender
• Recipient mailing address (state, city, street, etc.)
• Recipient phone number
• Recipient email address
• Recipient demographic information (race, etc.)
• Recipient dose information (first/second/etc. dose, vaccine name, source, etc.)
  • If a testing clinic, this will display testing product type information
• Recipient insurance information (if applicable)
• Recipient Patient: Account ID

The Scheduled Appointment Report can be filtered by scheduled start:

• Today
• Next 7 days
• Next 30 days
• Clinic Capacity*

*The Clinic Capacity Report allows you to view appointment availability based on the number of appointments that are currently booked at your clinic for a time frame you select; the default time frame is 60 days.

This report includes a dashboard with the following data on your clinic’s appointment capacity and utilization:

• Total capacity
• Total booked
• Remaining available
• Available capacity percentage

NOTE: The Scheduled Appointment Report is not available for third-party clinics because they do not use VAMS scheduling functionality.

NOTE: To ensure that the Clinic Capacity Dashboard is up to date at time of viewing, click the Refresh button in the top right corner of the dashboard.

Inventory – Vaccine Level Report

• Clinic Administrators (at vaccination clinics only)

This report includes the following data on current clinic inventory:

• Total manufacturers
• Total doses remaining
• Doses remaining by manufacturer and product
• Vial expiration dates
• Funding source (for SLV/VFC)

NOTE: Inventory-Vaccine Level reports provide data on current inventory levels only.

Inventory – Audit Report

Users include Clinic Administrators at all clinic types. This report includes the following data on vaccines administered at your clinic:

• Total doses added
• Total doses wasted
• Total doses remaining
• Reason for wastage
• Funding source (for SLV/VFC)

Interact with Report Data

After selecting and viewing a clinic data report, you can interact with the data by filtering, sorting, and grouping them and creating charts within the different reports.

• Filter: Filter data by clicking the Filter icon in the top right corner of the screen. You can filter vaccination administration and scheduled appointment reports by administration date and scheduled start date, respectively.
• Sort: Sort data by clicking the Arrow on the right side of each column header within a report. From the drop-down menu, you can select How You Want to Sort the data in the report.
• Group: Group data by clicking the Arrow on the right side of each column header within a report. From the drop-down menu, you can select to group the report by the data in that column by selecting Group Rows by This Field.
• Charts: Create charts to represent data by first grouping the data you want to transition into a chart.
  After grouping your desired data (e.g., doses remaining by manufacturer), you can click Add Chart in the top right corner of the screen to create a chart.
  • After your chart is created, you can change the chart type by clicking the Gear icon on the top right corner of the chart.

Export Report Data

Export clinic data reports in Formatted or Details Only views.

• Formatted includes the report header, groupings, and filter settings and can only be exported in Excel (.xlsx) format.
• Details Only includes only the detail rows.

To export a report:

1. From the Clinic Data tab, select the Report and Time Frame you want to view (e.g., Vaccination Administration report for the past 30 days).
2. Click Export in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Select your desired Export View (Formatted or Details Only). If choosing a Details Only view, select the file type from the Format drop-down menu (.xls or .csv) and select from the Encoding Options drop-down menu.
4. Click Export.

Congratulations! You have successfully exported the report and can access it as a downloaded file on your device.

Clinic Data Reports: Frequently Asked Questions

Managing your clinic’s vaccine inventory will primarily be the inventory manager’s role, but as the clinic administrator, you also have access to manage it in VAMS.

This section will show you how to manage your clinic’s vaccine inventory in VAMS.

Click on the buttons below to go to the corresponding sections in this user manual.

Place Vaccine Inventory Requests

You will place your vaccine inventory requests in VAMS to your jurisdiction’s POC. This crucial process will allow you to ensure your clinic has enough inventory on hand to administer vaccines to recipients. While you will place all inventory requests in VAMS, the jurisdiction POC will place all vaccine orders outside of VAMS through an established process determined by the jurisdiction.

NOTE: Inventory requests let your jurisdiction know how much inventory you need. An inventory request does not place an order or guarantee you will receive all inventory requested right away. The jurisdiction will place an order through their public health agency for the amount of inventory they can accommodate.

You can place, view, and manage your inventory requests on the Inventory tab in VAMS. To place an inventory request, you’ll need to know your desired product type, the number of doses you want to request, which type of dose you want to request (e.g., first or second dose), and the date by which you need to receive the requested inventory.

The Inventory tab shows you a list of all inventory requests you’ve submitted. This list includes a system-generated inventory request number, product type (vaccine type) requested, manufacturer, date requested and required, number of doses requested, and notes.

• Click the Inventory tab on your clinic’s home page.
• Click the Drop-Down Arrow in the Inventory Requests window.
• Click the New Request button.
• The Create Site Inventory Request pop-up window includes several required fields (noted by a red asterisk).
• Select the desired Vaccine Type from the drop-down menu.
  • After selecting the vaccine type, select the desired Manufacturer and Product from their respective drop-down menus.
• Enter the Number of Vaccine Doses you are requesting.
• Enter the Date of your inventory request.
• Enter the Date by which you want to receive the doses you are requesting.
• Your clinic’s name will auto-populate in the clinic field. If you wish to change the clinic selection, click the “X” in the field to select from a list of clinics to which you are assigned.
• If desired, you can add a note for the jurisdiction POC in the Clinic Notes field.
• Click Save to save your inventory request. VAMS will send your request to your jurisdiction POC.

Track Vaccine Inventory Requests

After your inventory request is submitted, a record of that request appears on the Inventory tab in the Inventory Requests window. The inventory request record shows important details about the request. It also offers a way to monitor and communicate with the jurisdiction POC.

• Click the Inventory Request Number hyperlinked in the list to access the inventory request record.

From the inventory request record, you can:

Vaccine Information

Vaccine Packaging Terms

• Unit of sale, or UoS, is the packaging in which the vaccine vials are delivered.
• Unit of use, or UoU, is the vaccine vial.

Example: One box, or UoS, could contain 10 UoUs, or vaccine vials.

Vaccine Labeling Terms

Lot Numbers

• UoS lot number is shown on the package label.
• UoU lot number is shown on the vial label.

NOTE: UoS and UoU Lot numbers will be the same.

National Drug Code (NDC) Numbers

• UoS NDC is shown on the package label.
• UoU NDC is shown on the vial label.

NOTE: UoS and UoU NDC numbers will not be the same.

Expiration Dates

• For some manufacturers, expiration dates can be found on both the UoS and UoU labels. Others supply expiration date information on their website.

Examples of vaccine labeling are shown below.

Note: If your clinic type is standard or mobile and you are unsure how to document vaccinations in VAMS, visit the quick reference guide for step-by-step instructions.

Log Vaccine Inventory

When you receive a vaccine delivery, you can log it in VAMS in two ways:

• Manually enter the information on the vaccine packaging and vials.
• Use a 2D barcode scanner to scan the barcodes on the vaccine vials. This automatically enters the information in VAMS.

Log Vaccine Inventory Manually

• On the Inventory tab, click the Manually Log Inventory 
• If applicable (for SLV/VFC), select a Funding Source from the Funding Source drop-down menu.
  • If Vaccines for Children (VFC) is chosen as the funding source, a new field titled VFC Funding Source will appear. Select a specific source from the VFC Source drop-down menu.
  • NOTE: Only vaccine products associated with the specified funding source will be available for selection in the remaining Log Vaccine Inventory steps.
  • NOTE: The Funding Source field will only be available for clinics offering School-Located Vaccines/Vaccines for Children.

• Select the Vaccine Type, Manufacturer, and Product from the drop-down menus. Enter the remaining vaccine information.
  • NOTE: A warning message will appear on the Manually Log Inventory screen under the Expiration Date field if the inventory expiration date is in the past, but VAMS will not prevent you from logging the inventory.
• Click Next.
• Review and confirm the information you entered is correct, then click Next.
• Click Finish in the pop-up window.

NOTE: You will be able to select between a 10- or 15-dose vial when logging Moderna inventory. The 10- and 15-dose Moderna vials are the same product but have different NDCs, which is why they are differentiated in VAMS.

The 15-dose Moderna vial is expected to yield 14 doses, so VAMS will add 14 doses every time a 15-dose vial is added to your inventory. If a 15th dose is administered from a vial, please add the extra dose individually.

Quick Tips:

• Enter UoU and UoS numbers without dashes (e.g., enter 5926710002, not 59267-1000-2).
• UoU and UoS lot numbers must be an exact match, including case.
• It’s possible you may enter new inventory that only partially matches an existing entry. If this happens, you will receive an error message. Follow the instructions in the message to invalidate the old record and add remaining inventory to a new record.

Log Vaccine Inventory by Scanning a 2D Barcode

VAMS is compatible with 2D barcode scanners (Bluetooth wireless and those that are not wireless). However, integrated mobile device scanning (i.e., an app that can scan a 2D barcode) will not connect with or automatically transfer information to VAMS.

• On the Inventory tab, click Scan Inventory.

NOTE: You must scan each UoS individually. Each UoS contains multiple vials or UoUs. When logging inventory, you must scan one UoU from each UoS. See the step-by-step instructions below.

• When the Scan Inventory pop-up appears, scan the UoS barcode on the vial with your 2D barcode scanner. The barcode will appear in the UoS barcode field.
• Select the Vaccine Manufacturer from the drop-down menu, then click Next.
• The UoS Information screen will appear with prepopulated UoS information. Enter the Total UoU (vials) in UoS, then click Next.
• Scan the UoU barcode on one of the vials from the UoS you are logging, and it will appear in the UoU barcode field. Click Next.
• Review and confirm the information you entered is correct, then click Next.
• Click Finish in the pop-up window.

Reduce Vaccine Inventory

Similar to how you log vaccine inventory, you can reduce vaccine inventory in VAMS in two ways:

• Manually enter the information on the vaccine packaging and vials.
• Use a 2D barcode scanner to scan the barcodes on the vaccine vials.

Reduce Vaccine Inventory Manually

• On the Inventory tab, click the Manually Reduce Inventory button.
• Select the Vaccine Type, Manufacturer, and Product from the drop-down menus. Enter the remaining vaccine information.
• The expiration date will auto-populate and cannot be changed.
• Select a Reason for reduction.
• Enter the Number of Doses Reduced, then click Next.

NOTE: VAMS will not allow you to reduce more inventory than you have on hand.

• Review and confirm the information you entered is correct, then click Next.
• Click Finish in the pop-up window.

Reduce Vaccine Inventory by Scanning a 2D Barcode

• On the Inventory tab, click the Reduce Inventory (Scan) button.
• When the Reduce Inventory (Scan) pop-up window appears, scan the UoU barcode on the vial with your 2D barcode scanner.
• Enter the required information in the Reduce Inventory (scan) pop-up window. The expiration date will auto-populate and cannot be changed. Click Next.
• Review and confirm the information you entered is correct, then click Next.
• On the next screen, click Finish.

Edit an Inventory Line Item

Once you have added inventory, you can edit specific inventory records (either add or reduce units). This offers a streamlined way to manage specific records.

• On the Inventory tab, scroll to the On-Hand Inventory Totals window.
• Select the blue hyperlinked lot number for which you are trying to update inventory total.
• At the top of the Site Inventory page, click Log Inventory or Reduce Inventory to adjust inventory totals from the specific record as needed.
• If you are logging inventory:
  • Select Vial (UoU) or Individual Dose(s). Enter the Total UoU (vials) in UoS or Number of Doses.
• If you are reducing inventory:
  • Select the Reason for Reduction.
  • Enter the Number of Doses Reduced.
• Click Yes to proceed with logging or reducing inventory or No to cancel.
• NOTE: Clinic administrators and inventory managers can manually log and manually reduce Moderna inventory in increments of 0.5.

Invalidate Inventory

If there is an error in existing inventory, you can invalidate that inventory record.

• On the Inventory tab, scroll to the On-Hand Inventory Totals window.
• Select the blue hyperlinked lot number for which you are trying to invalidate.
• Click invalidate.
• Review the warning message. Click Yes to proceed with invalidating the inventory or No to cancel.
• If you clicked Yes, in the On-Hand Inventory Totals list, the record status will read Invalid.

Monitor Vaccine Inventory Levels

Clinic administrators and Inventory Managers can use the Inventory tab to monitor inventory levels and view snapshots of available and booked COVID-19, Mpox, and routine vaccine appointments. This tab gives you a complete view of important information about your vaccine inventory level.

Select a Vaccine Type from the Vaccine Type drop down menu to view a snapshot of the following information for the chosen vaccine type:

• The number of scheduled appointmentsat your clinic over the next 28 days (including the current day).
• The total number of appointments scheduledat your clinic.
• The total number of vaccine doses your clinic has in its on-hand vaccine inventory*.

*The total on-hand inventory data on this tab come from the inventory you log and reduce in VAMS as well as what your clinic healthcare professional logs during vaccine administration. The healthcare professional’s method of logging inventory and waste is similar to yours. They can either scan a 2D barcode or log the information manually.

Inventory will automatically update if a healthcare professional edits a recipient’s vaccination record to change a lot number or type of vaccine. Once the change is made, it will update across the system and there will be no further action required by the inventory manager or clinic administrator.

NOTE: For a more detailed inventory report, see Clinic Data Reports in Section 2 for how to access the Inventory-Vaccine Level Report. As inventory managers do not have access to the Clinic Data tab, they cannot view the Inventory-Vaccine Level Report.

If you need to edit a vaccine lot number’s expiration date, follow these steps:

• Navigate to the On-Hand Inventory Totals window on the Inventory tab.
• Click the hyperlinked UoS Lot Number of the inventory you wish to update.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page you are directed to until you see Expiration Date.
• Click the Pencil icon to the right of the expiration date and enter the Correct Expiration Date for that lot number.
• Click Save.

Inventory Management: Frequently Asked Questions

This section will show you how to complete other clinic administration tasks in VAMS that occur less frequently than the tasks described in Manage Your Clinic in VAMS.

Click on the buttons below to go to the corresponding sections in this user manual.

Mobile Clinic Locations and Operating Hours

Mobile clinics are those with multiple locations for vaccination (e.g., mobile clinic bus or van). These clinics can change their physical address but must have a permanent shipping address to receive inventory.

After completing your mobile clinic’s registration by following the same process outlined in Step 2: Register Your Clinic and selecting an appointment duration on the Clinic Details tab as outlined, you can add new locations for your mobile clinic and set up operating hours for each location.

Add New Clinic Location

• Click the Clinic Setup tab to view the Clinic Locations. This table shows all clinic locations you added and is where you can edit or delete them.
• Click Add Clinic Location in the upper right corner of the table to add a clinic location.
• Name the Clinic Location, enter the Address, and select the Time Zone.
  Quick Tip: Consider using a standard naming convention for your mobile clinic location names.
• Enter the Start and End Dates this clinic location will be active and available for recipient appointments.
  NOTE: If you enter start and end dates that overlap with dates already set for another location, you will receive an error message. VAMS will not allow you to have two locations with overlapping start and end dates.
• Click Save in the New Location pop-up window.

Set Operating Hours for a New Clinic Location

• To set operating hours for each new clinic location, you will follow the same process outlined in Set Operating Hours for Your Clinic. Note that you must set operating hours for each mobile clinic location you add in VAMS.
• When you want this new location to be available for recipients to schedule appointments during the start and end dates you set, check the Available for Scheduling checkbox on the Clinic Location Details You can edit this setting at any time.
• Click Save.

Guidance on other settings in VAMS you can use to manage your clinic’s availability for scheduling is provided in Manage Your Clinic in VAMS.

Access Multiple Clinics in VAMS

You may need to perform the same or different user roles at multiple clinics. After a clinic administrator at another clinic adds you as a user for their clinic, you can easily access multiple clinics after logging into VAMS.

• From any page in VAMS, click the Drop-Down Arrow next to your name in the upper right corner to access the drop-down menu.
• Click Switch Portals.
  • If you have multi-portal access (i.e., you have access to more than one portal—Clinic Portal and Recipient Portal, for example) this will take you to the Portal Selection page. Click the Clinic Portal button, then you will see the Clinic Selection page shown below.
  • If you only have multi-clinic access (i.e., you have a clinic role at more than one clinic but do not have access to another portal) clicking Switch Portals will take you straight to the Clinic Selection page.
• From the Clinic Selection page, choose which clinic you want to switch to by clicking the Access Portal button under the clinic name.

Clinic Specific QR Codes

If your clinic uses guest registration, you can print and download clinic specific QR codes to share with recipients, who can scan the code to schedule an appointment or pre-register as a walk-in recipient. Front desk staff can also access this QR code to share with recipients.

• You can find your clinic’s QR code by clicking the link at the top of your Clinic Portal home page that says, “View QR code for recipient registration.”
• Download and print this code to share in your clinic for recipients to scan.
• When a recipient scans the code, they will be directed to the Pre-Scheduling Questions page in VAMS where they will answer a few pre-screening questions and either pre-register as a walk-in appointment or schedule a future appointment.
• If a recipient selects Pre-Register for a Walk-in Appointment, they will be directed to the Pre-Register screen where they can complete the existing registration process for your clinic.
• If they select Schedule a Future Appointment, they will be directed to the Date and Time page to select a future appointment date and time for your clinic. They can then proceed with the remaining steps of the existing guest registration process.
• NOTE: If the recipient responds Yes to the question, “Have you ever received a COVID-19 vaccine?” and selects a product that is not available at your clinic, an error message will appear that asks the recipient to search for a different clinic.
• NOTE for mobile clinic scheduling: If a recipient selects Schedule a Future Appointment and the clinic is a mobile clinic, they will be directed to the Select a Clinic Location. They will then select the location where they want to receive their vaccination and will be directed to the Date and Time page where they can proceed with the existing guest registration process.

VAMS Downtime Procedures

VAMS is occasionally taken down for scheduled system maintenance. All VAMS functions will be unavailable for all users during these scheduled downtimes. You will be notified prior to scheduled system downtimes.

All users should consider any processes they may need to complete prior to the downtime, such as:

• Reviewing inventory requests
• Downloading data reports
  • Quick Tip: If you need help with access to vaccination certificates, visit the quick reference guide, “Accessing Vaccination Certificates in VAMS”.

Clinics should consider these temporary processes so they can continue to administer vaccine successfully during downtimes:

• Review your upcoming appointments to see if your clinic has scheduled appointments during this time.
• Print or otherwise document the names of recipients who have appointments during this time.
• Print CDC’s Pre-vaccination Screening Checklist: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/downloads/pre-vaccination-screening-form.pdf.
• Print FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization Fact Sheets, if necessary: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/eua/index.html.
• Print CDC’s Immunization Information System Data Requirement Form to document the vaccine administration information so you can add it into VAMS when the system comes back online: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/reporting/downloads/IIS-data-requirement-form.pdf.
• Work with the healthcare professionals at your clinic to make a plan to enter the data from these appointments in VAMS as soon as possible.
  • Users assigned the healthcare professional role can backdate vaccinations using the Record Past Vaccination(s) button on the Recipient Management tab. They can record vaccinations they administered or can record them on behalf of another healthcare professional. You can learn more about this functionality in the VAMS Healthcare Professional Standard and Mobile Clinic User Manual.

VAMS Downtime: Frequently Asked Questions

User Access Support

Quick Tip: Some users may not be able to access VAMS and may request your help in gaining access. A quick reference guide on troubleshooting for user access is available with a list of solutions. Additional FAQs about accessing VAMS can be found on the “Getting Started in VAMS” page. You can also find support within VAMS by clicking the Help Link in the upper right corner of the navigation bar.

Submit a Question to the VAMS Help Desk

• From the Help page, click Submit a Question.
• Click Submit a Case and select New Clinic Case.
• When logged into the system, your name and email address will be prepopulated in your case.
• Select the Category of your question (and Subcategory, if applicable), select your Jurisdiction, type the Subject of your question, then type your Question in the text box.
• After clicking Confirm, a message will appear on the screen confirming your question was sent.
• Once you receive a response to your question, you can communicate back and forth with the support team by replying to the email.

NOTE: Do not edit the subject line of the email or the support team member who initially responded to your question will not receive it.