Planning a Vaccination Clinic

Planning for the clinic

• Determine clinic specifics, such as what vaccine(s) will be offered to which age group(s) and/or what patient health insurance requirements need to be met.
• Identify the clinic site, considering how much space will be needed based on
  • Clinic activities, including registration; screening for contraindications and precautions; and vaccine storage, preparation, and administration
  • Estimated number of patients
  • Physical distancing practices
  • Enhanced infection control procedures (including handwashing stations)
  • Traffic and weather considerations
  • Accommodations for people with a disability
  • Safety considerations for patients and health care personnel
• Ensure enough parking is available, including accessible parking, to observe patients for 15-30 minutes after vaccination. Observation is a critical patient safety step to prevent potential syncope (fainting) while driving or to allow staff to immediately respond if anaphylaxis occurs.
• Identify essential staffing.
• Internet access may be needed to allow for retrieval of information from or entering information into an immunization information system (IIS) or electronic medical record.
• Establish logistics and clinic flow, including
  • Practices to maintain physical distancing
  • Safety guidelines (for example, having passengers remain in their vehicles, restraining children properly, not allowing pets other than service animals)
  • Layout and equipment (e.g., traffic cones, barricades, signs) to maintain clinic flow from entrance to exit. Ideally, all vehicles, including those transporting people with disabilities, should be able to enter and exit in separate areas.

Supplies and materials

Secure sufficient supplies to meet the needs of staff and the highest anticipated number of patients.

Vaccine storage and handling

Ensure plans are in place for transporting and maintaining vaccine at appropriate temperatures while it is stored and throughout the clinic day based on vaccine storage and handling guidance.

A contingency plan should also be in place, in case vaccines are delayed or compromised and need to be replaced.

Vaccination clinic layout

Considerations for vaccination clinic layout include:

• Design the clinic flow so it moves in one direction and avoids crowding, with separate entrance and exit areas. Use rope or cones, tape, and signs in multiple languages, as needed, outside the clinic entrance area and inside the clinic to show routes for patients to follow from station to station.
• Designate an area for vaccine preparation. Vaccines should not be prepared at individual vaccination stations. Only administer vaccines you have prepared to reduce errors.
  • See Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices and the Vaccine Administration Resource Library for additional guidance.

• Designate areas for people with disabilities or limited mobility, including places to sit while waiting.
• If more than one vaccine is offered, prepare and administer different vaccines at different stations to reduce administration errors.
• Provide adequate seating for patients in waiting areas and a table and seating for both the patient and vaccinator at each vaccination station for walk-through clinics.
• Provide dividers between stations and at least one privacy screen in case patients need to remove clothing to bare their arms for vaccination at walk-through clinics.
• Provide a private area where clients who experience acute adverse events after vaccination or who have medical problems can be evaluated and treated.
• Provide a protected area for staff to leave personal items and take breaks.
• Provide a separate administrative work area for on-site documentation of vaccination in the IIS or electronic health record (EHR), if applicable. If not done on site, plans must be in place for how vaccinations will be documented after the clinic.

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Clinic promotion and communication

To promote your clinic:

• Be clear about who the clinic is for—those who have an appointment, those who have been prescreened, healthcare workers, high-risk populations, etc. Use signage at the clinic to provide this information, including where to get vaccinated if someone doesn't meet the clinic criteria.
• Provide instructions on how to set up appointments if prescheduling will be used.
• Scale your promotion to the amount of vaccine that will be available.
• Use multilingual and multimedia channels to widely post clinic purpose, dates, locations, times, and population that will be served.

Be prepared to:

• Communicate other options if scheduling is unable to meet demands (e.g., direct patients to other facilities, if possible).
• Use electronic communication, as appropriate, to share clinic information such as asking patients to download screening forms or review the VIS(s) or EUA fact sheets before coming to the clinic.

Electronic testing

Test connections and operability of any computers, tablets, printers, and barcode readers.