Vaccine registration website opens

Published 4:44 pm Wednesday, February 17, 2021

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After confusion and frustration felt in the wake of the commonwealth’s initial vaccine distribution, Virginians now have a one-stop shop for COVID-19 vaccine registration and scheduling in the form of vaccinate.virginia.gov.

The website, which went live Tuesday, Feb. 16, allows individuals to pre-register for the vaccine, check a previously-made registration and access additional information on the rollout.

According to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Virginians who have previously pre-registered through their local health district have been automatically imported into the new system and do not need to pre-register again. However, data migration will continue throughout the week, and residents are warned it may take several days for their name to appear in the centralized system.

For those who cannot, or do not wish, to register using a computer, an accompanying hotline number was launched Wednesday, Feb. 17. A call center is now open seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The center is staffed by 750 live operators who can answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and help people get pre-registered. Spanish speaking representatives are also available on the hotline.

To reach the hotline, residents can dial 877-VAX-IN-VA. Call volume is expected to be high in the first week of operations.

In a Wednesday press conference, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said the state has now administered more than 1.4 million vaccine doses. More than 12.4% of Virginians have received at least their first dose of the vaccine, ranking Virginia 12th in the nation in relation to vaccine doses administered. The state is seventh in the nation in utilizing doses that have been received so far.