Vaccine Providers
Increasing Access to Vaccination Opportunities:
COVID-19 Vaccination upon Discharge from Hospitals, Emergency Departments, and Urgent Care Facilities
VACCINE ELIGIBILITY
• Patients who are not moderately or severely ill and are
being discharged from hospital admission, 24-hour
observation, or an ED or UC visit may be vaccinated. Patients
with current COVID-19 infection should defer vaccination
until they have met criteria to discontinue isolation.
• If the patient is a minor, providers are to follow all state
laws regarding consent of minors for vaccination.
VACCINE CHOICE
• Any COVID-19 vaccine product can be used for this
activity.
• For a product that requires two doses:
- Arrange for a second-dose appointment.
- Counsel patients why the second dose is important and
encourage patients to return for it.
- Work with local and state government and local trusted
CBOs to address social determinants of health that may pose
barriers to receiving a second dose of vaccine, such as lack of
transportation, nonflexible work schedules, primary
language spoken, and other factors.
AVOIDING MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
• While continuing to follow best practices to use every
dose possible, providers should not miss an opportunity to
vaccinate every eligible person when they are ready to get
vaccinated, even if it means puncturing a multidose vial to
administer vaccine without having enough people available
to receive each dose.
ADDRESSING HESITANCY
• Use CDC resources to assist with addressing patients’
concerns regarding vaccines and vaccination. Providers are
encouraged to address vaccine hesitancy with all patients
and those who accompany them as part of routine practice.
BILLING
• EDs and UCs can bill the patient’s insurance company for
administration of COVID-19 vaccine; however, this should be
billed separately from the services that were provided during
the patient’s visit. Patients cannot be charged directly for the
vaccine administration fee if they do not have health
insurance and cannot be denied vaccination because of a lack of insurance.
• HRSA has information to aid in filing claims for reimbursement for vaccine administration, including claims for
uninsured patients.
Best practices to share with facilities:
• Assess vaccination status at triage, in the patient’s medical history, and during medication reconciliation by asking patient, checking electronic medical/health records, and linking with the jurisdiction’s immunization information system (IIS)
• Address vaccine hesitancy with all patients and those that accompany them as part of routine practice
• Strongly encourage and offer vaccination to all eligible patients and any friends or family who are accompanying them
• Consider using a pharmacist assigned to the facility to help with medication management to support confirming vaccination status before vaccination
• Utilize personnel not involved in the direct care of the patient, if available, to administer vaccines if the department is very busy and it would help work flow
• Offer vaccination services either at bedside or in special vaccination areas during discharge process
• Encourage patients to enroll in v-safe
• Document receipt and/or refusal in chart and IIS
• Complete and provide a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to the patient and print out a list of the vaccination(s) given, particularly for patients being transferred/discharged to rehab, longterm care, or psychiatric facilities
• Arrange for second dose appointment, if applicable
• Place patients in the waiting area for the 15-minute observation period after vaccination is complete to assist in improved flow and reduction of crowding
Trouble with unused doses? With an increase in supply, COVID-19 vaccination locations sometimes have unused, extra doses of COVID vaccine they must either use or throw out. Below are options for ensuring use of these doses in an efficient manner. Providers should keep in mind that individuals from vulnerable communities and the elderly may have difficulty accessing appointments requiring use of internet-based resources. Running COVID-19 immunization due reports in I-CARE for a provider-specific patient list with age ranges can be a useful method to target phone calls to patients (see Data Update Phase 1C Week 3 for details). In addition to individually calling people on a stand-by list, providers can consider:
- Partner with a local walk-in clinic or pharmacy to refer patients over to each other to use left-over doses.
- Use of automated texts / telephone calls to individuals on a clinic-specific stand-by list. Various vendors are available that provide such services.
- Use of a clinic's Facebook or Twitter account
- Dr B. This service will text individuals who have signed up with Dr B for alerts about leftover doses. Providers must register for this service but there are no fees. Texts are prioritized based on zip code proximity and are not limited to a provider's roster of patients. For more information, see Dr B's quickstart guide on the Dr B website. Dr. B verifies providers who participate in this program.
CDPH does not recommend any particular vendor or method for alerting individuals about unused doses, and continues to recommend that clinics use an efficient scheduling platform like Zocdoc to help ensure that to regularly scheduled appointments are filled.
Overcoming Barriers to Vaccination for Immigrants: In response to concerns of access barriers some immigrants are facing regarding documentation requests prior to receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and individuals inappropriately being sent bills for COVID-19 vaccine fees, HRSA developed and is today posting two fact sheets to help both patients and providers better understand their rights and responsibilities regarding access to COVID-19 vaccines. Visit their general website for more information. COVID-19 vaccines are free to all individuals living in the United States and these resources will help to empower patients.
Patient Fact Sheet:
In Spanish
In English
Provider Fact Sheet:
In Spanish
In English
Tuesday 04/06/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
Wednesday 04/07/2021: Pfizer Training (Password: RCffrrnH694)
Time: 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday 04/07/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 PM ET
Thursday 04/08/2021: Pfizer Manufacturer Series (Password: 8saDJ7Fqrs3)
Time: 10:00am – 11:00am ET
Thursday 04/08/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 PM ET
Friday 04/09/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
Monday 03/22/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 PM ET
Tuesday 03/23/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
Wednesday 03/24/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET
Wednesday 03/24/2021: Pfizer Manufacturer Series (password: VJrsWGHA466)
Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
Thursday 03/25/2021: Pfizer Manufacturer Series (password: ynKWF4pfd27)
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM ET
Thursday 03/25/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 PM ET
Friday 03/26/2021: Janssen COVID-19 Webinar: Information for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
Monday 03/15/2021 Time: 3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM Central
Tuesday 03/16/2021 Time: 7:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM Central
Wednesday 03/17/2021 Time: 7:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM Central
Thursday 03/18/2021 Time: 1:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM Central
Friday 03/19/2021 Time: 3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM Central
- Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Information | CDC (updated to allow the Pfizer vaccine to be stored in the freezer for up to two weeks)
- Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Information | CDC (updated interim clinical considerations)
- Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Information | CDC
- V-safe (and associated materials) now available in Spanish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese
The CDPH Health Alert Network (HAN) contains public health information for medical providers, delivered to your inbox and archived on the web, as well as an online document library on public health topics. All medical providers in Chicago may access the HAN. If you are not already subscribed to CDPH Health Alerts from CDPH please sign up.
Scheduling Resources
Covid-19 vaccination locations sometimes have unused, extra doses of COVID vaccine they must either use or throw out. Providers have requested information about options for ensuring use of these doses in an efficient manner. Running COVID-19 immunization due reports in I-CARE for a provider-specific patient list with age ranges can be a useful method to target phone calls to patients (details here: Data Update Phase 1C Week 3. Options providers may consider using, in addition to individually calling people on a stand-by list include:
- Use of automated texts /telephone calls to individuals on a clinic-specific stand-by list. Various vendors are available that provide such services.
- Use of a clinic's Facebook or twitter account.
- Dr. B. Providers must register for this service. There are no fees, and this service will text individuals who have signed up with Dr. B for alerts about leftover doses. Texts are prioritized based on zip code proximity and are not limited to a provider's roster of patients. For more information, see Dr. B's quickstart guide and the Dr. B website. Dr. B verifies providers who participate in this program.
CDPH does not recommend any particular vendor or method for alerting individuals about unused doses, and continues to recommend that clinics use an efficient scheduling platform like Zocdoc to help ensure that to regularly scheduled appointments are filled. Providers should keep in mind that individuals from vulnerable communities and the elderly may have difficulty accessing appointments requiring use of internet-based resources.