VAMS Vaccine Recipient Frequently Asked Account Set Up and Scheduling Questions

States and jurisdictions across the United States are using multiple different web-based applications for vaccination clinic management. Contact your local health department to find out which vaccination management system they are using and when and how you can get vaccinated.

VAMS is a vaccine appointment scheduling system that your health department, employer, or provider may be using to manage vaccine appointments. V-safe is a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccination. V-safe will also remind you to get your second COVID-19 vaccine dose if and when you need one.

VAMS works best in the Google Chrome web browser but can be accessed via any browser except Internet Explorer. VAMS also works on Android and iOS mobile devices.

Only VAMS users can access VAMS. Please contact your health department to see if your they are using VAMS. VAMS is web-based and works on computers, cell phones, and tablets. There is no VAMS smartphone app, but you can access the VAMS website from the internet browser on your cell phone or tablet. VAMS works best in the Google Chrome web browser but can be accessed via any browser except Internet Explorer.

• Your employer or organization will register you as a user, if they are using the VAMS tool. Only VAMS users can create a VAMS account and use VAMS to make a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
• If you are a VAMS user you will get a registration email from VAMS.
• Search your inbox for an email from vams@cdc.gov.
• If the email isn’t in your inbox, check your spam folder.
• Click the link in the email to start your VAMS registration (this step creates your account).
• If you can’t find the email, contact the employer or organization that registered you.

The registration link does not expire.

• Search your inbox for an email from vams@cdc.gov.
• If the email isn’t in your inbox, check your spam folder.
• If you still can’t find the email, contact your employer or supervisor.

• You should only register in VAMS once, regardless of how many employers you work for that have registered to receive vaccine. If you receive sign-up emails from multiple employers, select one of them and begin the registration process.
• You can indicate you work for additional employers during registration.

Make sure you are using the link sent to you via email to start the process. If the link is not working, contact your employer or supervisor and they can send you a new registration email.

No, VAMS does not integrate with Outlook.

Yes, race and ethnicity are required fields when registering in VAMS. Users may respond “unknown/not reported.”

Yes, vaccine recipients have the option to select from a drop-down list of countries when registering their account.

• You must create an account in VAMS to use the system.
• Search your email account for an email from vams@cdc.gov with a subject line similar to: You qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine, please register to schedule an appointment.
  • If this email is not in your inbox, check your junk or spam mail folders. If you still cannot find the email, contact your employer coordinator.
• Click the registration link in the email. This will take you to the prescreening page.
  • NOTE: The registration link in the email you received is for your registration only—it cannot be used to register someone else. Please do not forward it to anyone as the link will not work for them.
• If you are qualified after responding to the prescreening questions, you will progress to the account registration page.
  • Verify your email address (the email address where you received the original VAMS invitation will be prepopulated). Note that your email address will be your user name when logging into VAMS.
  • Create and verify your password.
  • Read the terms and conditions and check the box saying you agree.
  • Click the Create Account
    • After clicking Create Account, you will be asked to verify your identity through a two-factor authentication process. Follow the steps in the prompts to complete this process.
    • NOTE: You must verify your identity through this two-factor authentication process every time you log in to VAMS. After five log-in attempt failures, you will be locked out of the system for one hour.
    • To access VAMS in the future, visit the landing page (https://vams.cdc.gov/vaccineportal/s) and log in with your user name and password.

Contact your employer. Your employer will send a new registration link with your correct name.

• You can log into VAMS at any time to review, edit, or update your account information through the recipient portal home page.
  To access VAMS, visit the landing page (www.vams.cdc.gov) and log in with your user name and password.

Appointments for vaccination take approximately 15–20 minutes but may vary by clinic.

• You can schedule your appointment from the My Appointments page or from the Registration Confirmation
  • From the page, click the Schedule Appointment
  • NOTE: You can only have one appointment scheduled at a time. If you have an existing appointment scheduled, you will not be able to schedule another appointment until the existing appointment is canceled or completed.
• On the Clinic Location page, locate a clinic by entering your address or the ZIP code where you want to be vaccinated. You can filter results within 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100-mile radius of your address or ZIP code by clicking the drop-down arrow in the Within field.
• Click Search and a list of clinics within your selected mile radius will appear.
• Click the name of your preferred clinic, then click the Next button that appears below the map.
• NOTE: You must click the clinic name link for the Next button to appear.
• On the Date and Time page, select an available appointment date on the calendar to the left. Days with available appointments appear in black while unavailable days are grayed out.
• Select your appointment time by clicking a time slot, then click Next. Available time slots will appear in blue text while unavailable time slots are grayed out.
  • NOTE: Your selected appointment time slot will be held in the system for 10 minutes. If the appointment is not confirmed by that time, it will be released in the system.
  • Quick Tip: When considering an appointment, please make sure you can arrive on time. Showing up late may result in cancellation and require you to reschedule at a later date.
• Review your selected appointment location, date, and time.
• Click Submit to confirm your appointment or Previous to make changes.
• After clicking Submit, you will see an appointment confirmation, which includes your appointment details and a QR (quick response) code.
• You can present this QR code to the front desk staff when you arrive for your appointment for a contactless check-in.
  • NOTE: You will also receive an appointment confirmation via your preferred contact method. The appointment confirmation includes the same information as the appointment confirmation page.

• Expand your search radius to 10, 15, 25, 50, or 100 miles. If no clinics appear within a 100-mile search radius, manually enter your city and state in the search box. If no clinics appear and you know clinics exist, the clinics in your area may not have appointments available.
• Log out of VAMS and log in again.
• Try again in a new browser.
• If none of the previous attempts provide clinic options, contact your employer or supervisor.

• To reschedule, you must cancel your original appointment first, then create a new appointment.
• Find your appointment confirmation email, then click the Cancel Appointment link. You can also log into VAMS and cancel your appointment.
• After cancelling your appointment, follow the same steps used to schedule your original appointment to schedule a new appointment.

• Find your appointment confirmation email, then click the Cancel Appointment Link. You can also log into VAMS manually. On the recipient portal home page, go to the View Details column and click the View Appointment link.
• Find the appointment you want to cancel.
• Click Cancel Appointment and follow the prompts to cancel your appointment.

If you miss your scheduled appointment by more than four hours, VAMS automatically cancels your appointment. You will get a notification to schedule a new appointment via your preferred communication method (text or email). Each clinic may also have its own policy for missed appointments.

Clinic staff can scan a QR, or quick response, code at check-in for a quicker check-in process. Using this code can enable contactless check-in when you arrive at the vaccination clinic.

• When you create your appointment, you will have a chance to review the details on the Appointment Confirmation page as the last step in the scheduling process. This confirmation page also includes a quick response (QR) code you can use to check in on the day of your appointment.
• You will also receive a confirmation notification via your preferred contact method (email or text).

Log into VAMS and click on the View Appointment link. You can also view your appointment information in your confirmation notification (email or text, depending on your preferred communication method).

• When your vaccination provider has logged your vaccination in VAMS, you will receive an email. Then, you will be able to schedule your second-dose appointment, if needed. If you forget to make your appointment, VAMS will send you a reminder using your preferred communication method.

VAMS sends an appointment reminder notification to you 12 hours prior to your scheduled appointment.