Healthcare Professional Standard & Mobile Clinic User Manual

Your Role and Activities in VAMS

As a healthcare professional (HP), you will use VAMS to:

• Manage the vaccine administration process for recipients,
• Cancel recipient appointments,
• Review recipient information,
• Log vaccination, and
• View dates when recipients are eligible to receive their second dose of vaccine (if applicable)

Your role in VAMS is critical to making sure recipient vaccinations are successful. The VAMS Role and Activity Matrix below shows VAMS activities by role, including the activities that only you, as an HP, can perform in VAMS and some that you share with other users.

VAMS Role and Activity Matrix

VAMS Role and Activity Matrix

Activities in VAMS	Healthcare Professional	Clinic Administrator	Inventory Manager (optional)	Front Desk
Serve as the clinic point of contact (POC) for your jurisdiction (Typically, the clinic administrator serves as the clinic POC.).
Manage clinic information (e.g., physical address).
Set and manage clinic schedule.
Manage (add, edit, and remove) VAMS clinic users.
Manage clinic vaccine inventory.
View and export Inventory Vaccine Level report.
Check in recipients.
Create walk-in recipient appointments.
Cancel recipient appointments.
Confirm recipient identity.
Add and edit recipients in VAMS.	Edit only
Access and review vaccine recipient records (e.g., name, date of birth [DOB], Prevaccination Questionnaire or Pretesting Questionnaire responses); add notes to records.
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).

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, vaccination clinics are categorized within three main types: standard, mobile, and third-party. If you are unsure which category your clinic falls under, a list of the different clinic types, accompanying clinic users and examples of each are included in the quick reference guide for clinic types.

NOTE: Standard/mobile clinics can also be testing clinics. Additional details or tips related to testing for healthcare professionals at standard/mobile clinics will be interwoven throughout this User Manual.

Quick Tip: Third-party clinics operate differently than standard and mobile clinics. As such, third-party clinics have different role requirements and permissions. For information and instructions specific to the role of a health professional at a third-party clinic, please review the Health Professional Third-Party Clinic User Manual.

Activate Your User Account

You must activate an account in VAMS to use the system. After your clinic administrator 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.

After creating your account, you will be immediately taken to the Clinic Portal home page in VAMS, where you will see a Recipient Management table.

View and Manage Scheduled Appointments

As the clinic’s HP, you have the ability to view the clinic’s scheduled appointments and cancel recipient appointments, if needed. Review the information below to familiarize yourself with how to view appointments and cancel them.

View Scheduled Appointments

• Once you access the Clinic Portal, the Recipient Management tab page will be your default home page and where you can view checked-in appointments at your clinic.
  • NOTE: You can also navigate to the Recipient Details page by clicking on a recipient’s hyperlinked name in the Recipient Management tab.
• Clicking the drop-down menu in the Recipient Management table header will provide you with three list views that filter recipients listed in the table:
  • Today’s Checked-In Appointments view will display your clinic’s appointments scheduled that day and is the default view.
  • Prior Checked-in Appointments view will display all checked-in recipients, including that day’s and prior appointments.
  • Today’s Completed Appointments view will display your clinic’s appointments that have been completed that day.
  • Specimen Collected view will display all completed COVID-19 testing appointments (this is only available at testing clinics).
• You can sort appointment data in the table by clicking the arrows in the column headers, such as scheduled appointment start date/time, name, DOB, gender, and email address. You may also sort by the following columns:
  • Observation (vaccination clinics only) – will indicate if the recipient has reported information in the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire that is important to review prior to vaccination.
  • Dose (vaccination clinics only) – will indicate which dose of a vaccine the recipient is scheduled to receive (e.g., 1^st, 2^nd, additional, booster, and/or Influenza).
    • Note: Additional dose in VAMS refers to the third dose for the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech product series as per CDC guidance in mid-August 2021 for moderate and severe immunocompromised individuals.
  • Vaccine name (vaccination clinics only) – if the recipient has received a dose, this column will indicate which vaccine they received previously (e.g., Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Janssen [Johnson & Johnson], or Peds Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19).
  • Source (vaccination clinics only) – if the recipient has received a dose, this column will indicate if the dose was received at a clinic that does or does not use VAMS (e.g., VAMS, non-VAMS).
  • Test Type (testing clinics only) – will indicate which test type the recipient is scheduled to receive (e.g., 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]).
• You can also search for appointments by entering the recipient’s name or email address in the search bar at the top right of the appointments table. Note that you can search the recipient’s full name or just the beginning of their name. For example, you can find the appointment for a recipient named William Smith by searching for “Will.”
• Standard and mobile clinic users can see a list view of Today’s Completed Appointments. This list view can be found in the Recipient Management tab. The list will display completed vaccination appointment details, including scheduled start, recipient name, date of birth, gender, email, dose (vaccination clinics only), vaccine name (vaccination clinics only), observation (vaccination clinics only), test type (testing clinics only), and healthcare professional who administered the vaccine or test.

Cancel Appointments

• From the Recipient Management tab, next to the recipient appointment you want to cancel, click Cancel in the Cancel Appointment column.
  • A screen with the appointment details will appear.
• Select a cancellation reason from the drop-down menu.
• Click Cancel Appointment to cancel the appointment. Click Keep Appointment if you no longer want to cancel the appointment.
• After clicking Cancel Appointment, a cancellation confirmation message will appear. Click OK to return to the Clinic Portal home page.

This section contains three steps you’ll follow to log vaccine administration in VAMS, as well as other actions to log vaccinations in VAMS.

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

Step 1: Access the Recipient’s Record

You will need:

• Recipient’s name or email address

The first step in vaccine administration is accessing the recipient’s record. To access a recipient’s record, you must locate their appointment in VAMS.

• On the Recipient Management tab, clicking the drop-down arrow in the Recipient Management table header will provide you with different ways to view recipients. Choose one of the following options.
  • Today’s Checked-In Appointments view will display your clinic’s appointments scheduled that day.
  • Prior Checked-in Appointments view will display all checked-in recipients, including that day’s and prior appointments.
  • Today’s Completed Appointments view will display your clinic’s appointments that have been completed that day.
• You can sort appointment data in the table by clicking the arrows in the column headers.
• You can also search for appointments by entering the recipient’s name, email address, or phone number in the search bar at the top right of the appointments table. Note that you can search the recipient’s full name or just the beginning of their name. For example, you can find the appointment for a recipient named William Smith by searching for “Will.”
• To access the recipient’s record, click the recipient’s name.

Step 2: Review the Recipient’s Record

Reviewing a recipient’s record is a crucial step in deciding whether to administer the vaccine.

1. Recipient Information: At the top of the recipient record you will find basic recipient information (e.g., name, birth date, and sex).
2. Vaccine Selection: This section details the vaccine(s) originally scheduled for this appointment.
3. Appointment Selection: This section details the COVID-19 dose originally scheduled for this appointment.
4. Next Dose (if applicable): Next dose will be information about when the recipient will be eligible for their next dose of COVID-19 vaccine if they have already received one dose of a two-dose vaccine. The date listed is based on that vaccine’s protocol. This is where you can also view their vaccination certificate if they have completed one or more doses in VAMS. The vaccination certificate provides details about previous dose(s) the recipient received in VAMS.
5. Notes: In the Notes section of the record, you can log information about the recipient that may be helpful to another HP in the future (e.g., recipient is nervous about needles).
   • To log a note, click New Note in the upper right corner of the page. A pop-up window will appear where you can add your note. Click Save.
   A note about the Notes section:
   • The name of the HP who created the note will be linked to the note.
   • If a recipient has a follow-up appointment with another HP at your clinic, notes will be visible to the HP.
   • If a recipient has a follow-up appointment at another clinic, notes will be visible to the HP at that clinic.
   • You can delete a note you have created by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the note in this table, then clicking Delete.
6. Alerts (if applicable): Below the Notes section, alerts will appear if the recipient has reported information in their Pre-vaccination Questionnaire that is important to review prior to vaccination or if they have not yet completed the questionnaire. If the recipient has not reported anything of note and has completed their Pre-vaccination Questionnaire, no alert will be present.
7. Prior to administering the vaccine, you will be presented with three tabs of information for review, which contain the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire, recipient details and the vaccine administration record.
   • Pre-vaccination Questionnaire: Information relevant to today’s appointment such as allergies, current medical treatment, recipient’s health status today, etc.
     • NOTE: If the recipient has not yet completed their Pre-vaccination Questionnaire, you will see a note here telling you the questionnaire is not complete and giving you options for recording the questionnaire. See the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire section below for more information.
   • Recipient Details: Name, sex, VAMS System ID, mailing address, race and ethnicity, preferred method of communication (if provided), etc.
   • Vaccine Administration: Record of COVID-19 vaccination history and Log Vaccination button.

Pre-vaccination Questionnaire

If the recipient has not yet completed their Pre-vaccination Questionnaire, you can walk them through the questions and answer the questionnaire with them or confirm that the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire was completed outside of VAMS.

• In the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire tab in the recipient record, click Start Pre-vaccination Questionnaire in VAMS. If the recipient completed the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire outside of VAMS, click Record that Pre-vaccination Questionnaire was Completed Outside of VAMS instead.
• Discuss the questions with the recipient and input their answers for each question. If applicable, click Set Answers to “no” to answer “no” to all questions in the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire.
• Confirm they have received the EUA Fact Sheet(s) for Recipients and Caregivers and that they have received a copy of the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
• Click Submit.
• You will then return to the recipient record, where you will receive confirmation of the completed Pre-vaccination Questionnaire.

NOTE: As a healthcare professional you will be able to click Edit Responses to revise previously completed Pre-vaccination Questionnaire responses. Healthcare professionals will also be able to complete a new Pre-vaccination Questionnaire if a previous Pre-vaccination Questionnaire was logged outside of VAMS. After completing their edits, healthcare professionals can click Submit to accept changes and return to the recipient record or click Cancel to revert changes and return to the recipient record.

You can now advance to Step 3: Log Vaccination, but you should be prepared to review the recipient’s medical information and Pre-vaccination Questionnaire answers prior to administering vaccine to confirm they are eligible to receive a vaccine.

Step 3: Log Vaccination

You will Need:

• The vaccine vial’s unit of use (UoU) information

NOTE: If you as a healthcare professional try to exit the log vaccination flow early, you will be alerted and asked if you would like to cancel vaccine administration or continue. If you cancel the administration, no data are saved in the system, including vaccine administration date, inventory recorded, or inventory wastage.

Log Vaccine Information

• On the recipient record, ensure the vaccine selection and appointment selection are correct. As the healthcare professional, you can click Edit and modify the selection of vaccines or dose type (e.g., additional or booster) you want to administer as part of this appointment. Click Save to update the selection or Cancel to revert to the original selection.
• On the Vaccine Administration tab in the recipient record, click the Log Vaccination.
• On the vaccination details page, respond to the question shown on the screen.
  • If you answer No, the recipient is ineligible for vaccination at this time. You will be taken to a screen that says, “Because the vaccine was not able to be administered, a reschedule prompt has been sent to the recipient’s email.”
    • Select a reason for the unsuccessful administration from the drop-down menu and click Log Vaccination Attempt.
  • If you answer Yes, additional fields will appear for you to enter vaccine details.
• If there isn’t a record of the recipient completing the Prevaccination Questionnaire, the system will ask if the questionnaire was completed outside of VAMS. Answer Yes or No. If you answer Yes, you can proceed to enter vaccine details.
• Select the Manufacturer from the drop-down menu.
  NOTE: Based on vaccine inventory data already logged in the system, the drop-down selections for the next two fields will be dependent upon the manufacturer you selected.
• Select a Product from the drop-down menu.
• Select a UoU (vial) lot number.
• The expiration date will prepopulate and cannot be edited.

Select Vaccination Site, Date, and Time

• Once you’ve administered vaccine, under the vaccine details drop-down menus, there are fields to select the vaccine administration site (e.g., left deltoid) and fields to enter the vaccination date and vaccination time. NOTE: The Vaccination Date will default to the day and time of entry, but you can backdate a vaccination event by selecting a previous date and time.
• Select the Vaccination Administration Site.
• Select the Vaccination Administration Date.
• Select the Vaccination Administration Time.
• Indicate if any inventory was wasted during the appointment.
  • If you select yes, you will see additional fields to detail the inventory that was wasted (e.g., vial, reason, number of doses wasted).
  • If you select no, you will not see additional fields relating to wasted inventory.
• After logging wasted inventory (if necessary), click Log Vaccine in the bottom right of the screen.
• • NOTE: If the recipient was scheduled for a co-administration appointment (e.g., COVID-19 and Influenza), there will be another section to enter vaccination details for the second vaccination.
• Review the vaccination details you entered on the previous page. If everything is correct, click Submit in the bottom right corner of the page.

Tell the Recipient When They Can Get Their Second Dose of Vaccine (if applicable)

After clicking Submit on the final screen of the log vaccination flow, a new window appears notifying you when the recipient is eligible to receive their next dose of COVID-19 vaccine, if required for the vaccine product received.

• The vaccine data entered in the system determine the date the recipient is eligible to receive their next dose and will not allow the recipient to book an appointment before that date.
• If the recipient provided contact information, VAMS will send a notification to the recipient that includes the date they are eligible to receive their next dose along with a link to schedule their next appointment on or after that date.
• Inform the recipient they can access their vaccination certificate from the Recipient Portal. You can also view the vaccination certificate by clicking the hyperlinked text on the confirmation page, by accessing the recipient record, or by downloading the certificate as a PDF.
• If no further doses are required, the pop-up window states all COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered.
• Click Finish to return to the home page.

Backdating Vaccination Events

• If you are not able to log vaccine administration at the time of vaccination (e.g., due to loss of internet connectivity), you can use the vaccination date and time fields to backdate vaccinations. VAMS will identify the individual who logs the vaccine in VAMS as the same person who also administered the vaccine. If you want to log a past vaccination on behalf of another healthcare professional, the next section will give you detailed instructions on how to do so.
• You cannot use these fields to log future dates.

NOTE: If you are logging multiple past vaccination events for one recipient, you must log the patient’s first dose of vaccine received before entering the second dose of vaccine.

Record Past Vaccination(s)

You will need:

• Name or email address of the healthcare professional who administered the vaccination(s)
• Recipient’s name
• Vaccine manufacturer, product, and UoU (vaccine vial) information; vaccination site, date/time of administration

QUICK TIP: In addition to logging your own vaccinations, you can use VAMS to log vaccinations on behalf of other healthcare professionals at your clinic.

• On the Recipient Management tab, select Record Past Vaccination(s) in the top right corner of the screen.
• Select Record Individually Within VAMS and click the Record Past Vaccinations
• Search for the healthcare professional who administered the vaccine by entering their name or email address.
  • Once you start typing, relevant healthcare professionals will populate below the search bar.
  • This can be your own email address if you are recording for yourself.
• Once you’ve found the correct healthcare professional, select their name/email address, click Search, then click Record Vaccination(s) to access the Choose Recipient and Enter Vaccination Details page.
• Search for the name of the recipient who received vaccine. When the name populates in the drop-down list, select the name.
  • Reminder: in order to record a past vaccination for a recipient, that recipient must be checked in at your clinic. The recipient will not appear in the Choose Recipient page if they are not checked in at your clinic.
• Select the manufacturer, product, and UoU lot number from the drop-down lists.
  • The expiration date will prepopulate and cannot be changed.
• Select the vaccination site, date, and time, then click Done.
• After advancing to the Successful Vaccination page, you can either return to the Recipient Management tab by clicking View Portal or record additional past vaccinations by clicking Record Additional Vaccinations.

Bulk Upload of Vaccinations

Healthcare professionals at all clinic types can now bulk upload COVID-19 vaccinations that occurred at their clinic but were not recorded at the time of vaccination. NOTE: At this time Influenza vaccinations cannot be recorded via bulk upload in VAMS. To bulk upload COVID-19 vaccinations:

• Navigate to the Recipient Management tab and click the Record Past Vaccination(s) button.
• You will now see two options for recording past vaccination(s): Record individually within VAMS and Import a template for bulk vaccination. Select Import a template for bulk vaccination to begin the vaccination upload process, then follow the steps below (which are also outlined on the screen in VAMS).

NOTE: You can only bulk upload vaccinations for recipients who have a scheduled, checked-in, or cancelled “no show” appointment.

• Step 1: Click the blue hyperlink on the screen to download the Bulk Vaccination Upload Template.
• Step 2: Click the Export Recipients hyperlink. In the pop-up window, enter the date and time range for recipient appointments that you want to export, then click export.
  • In addition to your date and time range, you can also refine your recipient export by vaccine dose and manufacturer. To export all recipients in your range regardless of dose and manufacturer, select All Doses and ensure all manufacturer checkboxes are selected. As a reminder, VAMS exports recipients based on if they were added to your clinic within your date and time range, not the recipient’s next dose eligibility date. Keep in mind that this may result in inadvertently exporting recipients who already received one dose of vaccine but are not yet eligible for their second dose.
  • Doses
    • To export a list of recipients who need their first dose of vaccine, select 1st Dose. This will export a list of all recipients in the range you selected who do not yet have a vaccine dose logged to their account. Selecting this option removes your ability to refine your export by manufacturer.
    • To export recipients who need their second dose of vaccine, select 2nd Dose. This will export all recipients in your range who already have one dose logged to their account and received vaccine from a manufacturer with a two-dose vaccination series.
    • To export minor recipients who need their first dose of pediatric vaccine, select 1st Dose Pediatric Vaccine (5-11). This will export all minor recipients in the range you selected who do not yet have a pediatric vaccine dose logged to their account. Selecting this option removes your ability to refine your export by manufacturer.
    • To export minor recipients who need their second dose of pediatric vaccine, select 2nd Dose Pediatric Vaccine (5-11). This will export all recipients in your range who already have one pediatric dose logged to their account and received vaccine from a manufacturer with a two-dose vaccination series.
    • To export recipients who need an additional dose, select Additional Dose. This will export all recipients in your range who may require an additional dose.
      • Note: Additional dose in VAMS refers to the third dose for the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech product series as per CDC guidance in mid-August 2021 for moderate and severe immunocompromised individuals.
    • To export recipients who need a booster dose, select Booster Dose. This will export all recipients in your range you may require a booster dose.
    • To export all recipients in your range, select All Doses.
  • Manufacturer
    • To export recipients who need a second dose of vaccine of a specific manufacturer, use the checkboxes below Manufacturer to select which manufacturer(s) you want to include in your export. For example, selecting Moderna will refine your export to only include recipients who have already received one dose of Moderna and were added to your clinic within the specified range.
    • By default, all manufacturer checkboxes are selected. This will export all recipients within your range and dose criteria regardless of manufacturer.
  • Click Export.
• Step 3: Copy and paste the contents of the recipient export file into the Bulk Vaccination Upload Template. This template has the same first few columns as the export template to allow for a simple copy and paste of these data. In the remaining columns of the bulk upload template, use the cell drop-down options and enter data to complete the recipients’ vaccination records. Save the file as a CSV UTF-8 (comma delimited) (.csv) file.
• Step 4: Click the Upload Files link to upload the populated Bulk Vaccination Upload Template into VAMS.

To view your bulk upload, click the Data Bulk Imports tab. On the Vaccination Import list view, select the blue hyperlinked Import ID to view the import file and a results log, which you can download to view the upload status for each recipient.

Search For, Edit, and Invalidate Past Vaccinations

You will need:

• Recipient’s email address or VAMS ID; or first name, last name, and date of birth.

Search for Past Recipient Vaccination Records

• On the Recipient Management tab, select Search Past Vaccinations in the top right corner of the screen.
• Enter either the recipient’s email address or VAMS ID, or their first name, last name, and date of birth.
• Click Search.
• Scroll down to view your search results. After locating your desired recipient, click View Record in the Action column to view the recipient’s vaccination record.

Edit Past Recipient Vaccination Records

• To edit the vaccination record, click Edit Record on the recipient’s Vaccination Record page.
• Update any information you need to edit, then select a reason for record update from the drop-down menu in the pop-up window and click Save.
• Any edits made to the record are reflected in the recipient’s account, including their vaccination certificate.

Invalidate Past Recipient Vaccination Records

In addition to editing the vaccination record, you can also invalidate vaccination records that were entered in error on the Vaccination Records page.

• To invalidate a vaccination record, click Invalidate Record at the top of the Vaccination Record page.
• Select a reason for record invalidation from the drop- down menu, then click Yes to confirm you want to invalidate the record.

NOTE:

• This feature searches for recipient vaccination records at your clinic only.
• Recipients have one vaccination record for each dose received at your clinic.

This section contains three steps you’ll follow to log COVID-19 test administration in VAMS, as well as other actions to log COVID-19 tests in VAMS.

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

Step 1: Access the Recipient’s Record

 You will need:

• Recipient’s name or email address

The first step in COVID-19 test administration is accessing the recipient’s record. To access a recipient’s record, you must locate their appointment in VAMS.

• On the Recipient Management tab, clicking the drop-down arrow in the Recipient Management table header will provide you with different ways to view recipients. Choose one of the following options.
  • Today’s Checked-In Appointments view will display your clinic’s appointments scheduled that day.
  • Prior Checked-in Appointments view will display all checked-in recipients, including that day’s and prior appointments.
  • Today’s Completed Appointments view will display your clinic’s appointments that have been completed that day.
  • Specimen Collected view will display all completed COVID-19 testing appointments.
• You can sort appointment data in the table by clicking the arrows in the column headers.
• You can also search for appointments by entering the recipient’s name, email address, or phone number in the search bar at the top right of the appointments table. Note that you can search the recipient’s full name or just the beginning of their name. For example, you can find the appointment for a recipient named William Smith by searching for “Will.”
• To access the recipient’s record, click the recipient’s name.

Step 2: Review the Recipient’s Record

Reviewing a recipient’s record is a crucial step in deciding whether to administer the test.

1. Recipient Information: At the top of the recipient record you will find basic recipient information (e.g., name, birth date, and sex).
2. COVID-19 Testing Type & Log Specimen: This section details the COVID-19 test type originally scheduled for this appointment and is the section where you will record the test administration.
3. Notes: In the Notes section of the record, you can log information about the recipient that may be helpful to another HP in the future (e.g., recipient is nervous about swabs).
   1. To log a note, click New Note in the upper right corner of the page. A pop-up window will appear where you can add your note. Click Save.

3. A note about the Notes section:
   2. The name of the HP who created the note will be linked to the note.
   3. If a recipient has a follow-up appointment with another HP at your clinic, notes will be visible to the HP.
   4. If a recipient has a follow-up appointment at another clinic, notes will be visible to the HP at that clinic.
   5. You can delete a note you have created by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the note in this table, then clicking Delete.
4. Alerts (if applicable): Below the Notes section, alerts will appear if the recipient has reported information in their Pretesting Questionnaire that is important to review prior to their test or if they have not yet completed the questionnaire.
5. Prior to administering the COVID-19 test, you will be presented with two tabs of information for review, which contain the Pretesting Questionnaire and recipient details.
   1. Pretesting Questionnaire: Information relevant to today’s appointment such as reason for COVID-19 test request, current signs/symptoms, recipient’s health status today, vaccination status,
      1. NOTE: If the recipient has not yet completed their Pretesting Questionnaire, you will see a note here telling you the questionnaire is not complete and giving you options for recording the questionnaire.
   2. Recipient Details: Name, sex, VAMS System ID, mailing address, race and ethnicity, preferred method of communication (if provided), etc.

You can now advance to Step 3: Log COVID-19 test, but you should be prepared to review the recipient’s medical information and Pretesting Questionnaire answers prior to administering the COVID-19 test to confirm they are eligible to receive a COVID-19 test.

Step 3: Log COVID-19 Test

• On the recipient record, in the COVID-19 Testing Type & Log Specimen section, click Edit.
• Use the radio buttons to select the COVID-19 test you are administering.
• Use the drop-down to indicate the specimen collection source (e.g., nasopharyngeal, sterile saline, anterior nares, dry swab [rapid only]).
• Select the date and time for the COVID-19 test.
• Enter the collector’s initials.
• Click Save.

This section will show you how to perform other tasks in VAMS that occur less frequently than the tasks described in this user manual, such as accessing VAMS support, or actions that will only apply to certain users, such as those who work at multiple clinics.

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

Access Multiple Clinics in VAMS

You may need to perform the same or different user roles at multiple clinics. After the clinic administrator at each 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.
• 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.

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:

• Completing Pre-vaccination or Pretesting Questionnaires
• Viewing/printing vaccination certificates
  • 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
• Print FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization Fact Sheets, if necessary:
• 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.
• Make a plan to enter the data from these appointments in VAMS as soon as possible.
  • You can backdate vaccinations using the Record Past Vaccination(s) button on the Recipient Management tab. You can record vaccinations you administered or record them on behalf of another healthcare professional. You can learn more about this functionality in Vaccine Administration.

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.