- As coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out across the United States, regulations and procedures for the shots may be confusing for some people.
- Each state has its own guidelines for who gets the vaccine and when.
- For information about your state’s vaccination process, visit the website of your city or province’s health department or call your local COVID-19 hotline.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
As of January 22, 17 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States, with nearly 38 million doses spread across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The first wave of vaccinations was fairly simple and limited to health workers in the foreground.
But now the rollout is expanding, and the remaining 310 million Americans waiting their turn may be wondering when they can get the all-important dose.
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Here’s a guide to finding your state’s guidelines and signing up for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Consult your Department of Health website for registration sites and admission status
Not only does each state have different guidelines for the distribution of the vaccine, it also varies from city to city and country to country. It is therefore important to find the specific rules of your state.
Most cities and counties have COVID-19 vaccine information on the local health department website. This website can give you information on what documents you need to bring in to be vaccinated and where you can get vaccinated.
Some cities and counties have official forms that patients can fill out to see if you are eligible and indicate that you want the vaccine. Others, such as New York City, allow you to make online appointments to be vaccinated at different vaccination sites.
Some cities and counties, such as Los Angeles and New Orleans, have a list of hospitals and vaccination facilities in the area where patients can make an appointment.
Some countries have COVID-19 hotlines to help you register
States may have an additional COVID-19 hotline to call with questions about the vaccine, such as who is eligible, where to sign up and where to get your shots.
Mississippi allows residents to plan their vaccinations by telephone at (877) 978-6453.
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Some states, including Maryland and Massachusetts, allow residents to sign up for text notifications about the vaccine to ping them when different priority groups start vaccinating.
If you are eligible, look for non-profit medical organizations in the area with vaccine entries
If you have determined that you are eligible according to your state’s guidelines, your local health care website may direct you to a nonprofit medical initiative such as The Black Doctors Consortium in Philadelphia and Community of Hope in Washington DC for an appointment to make to be vaccinated.
You can find these non-profit organizations by checking the list of COVID-19 vaccination sites on the website of your local health department.
It is important to note that these guidelines change rapidly as more doses of the vaccine are distributed, so remember to check with your local health authorities for updates.