The District is officially launching its new pre-registration portal for COVID-19 vaccination that was announced last week on Wednesday, March 10.
The new system that followed technical issues barring eligible residents from scheduling vaccine appointments will prioritize three populations — DC residents aged 65 and up, those with qualifying medical conditions (ages from 18 to 64) and eligible workers.
Under the new system, eligible individuals will be able to pre-register for vaccination through vaccinate.dc.gov or by calling 1-855-363-0333. They need to answer a number of questions on their personal information, including their job and medical history.
Then DC Health will notify them via a phone call, text message or email, depending on the individual’s preference, that they can schedule an appointment within 48 hours.
If an applicant fails to make an appointment in 48 hours, they need to wait until they are contacted again, but their name will be removed from the pre-registration list after three times, and they are required to register again after that.
“This could take days, it could take weeks, and it can even take months, depending on your risk factor and eligibility,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Monday, also noting that the city does not currently have enough vaccine shots for everyone, but every person who register will eventually get vaccinated.
Residents do not need to rush for signing up as the order of the appointments will not follow the order of registering, according to officials.
DC will receive approximately 25,000 vaccine shots this week. Over 7,000 of them will be delivered to hospitals for their patients, around 3,000 will be for special initiatives and about 15,000 will go toward appointments on vaccinate.dc.gov.
Of all vaccine appointments, 40 percent will be designated for those 65 and older, 40 percent is allocated for DC residents aged from 18-64 with medical conditions, and 20 percent will go to eligible workers.
DC announced on Friday that it selected Microsoft to host the pre-registration portal.
Microsoft Selected to Host District’s Vaccine Pre-Registration System
Children’s National Hospital to Vaccinate Eligible Residents Ages 16+