Wednesday, April 14, 2021
(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Bowser and DC Health, led by Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, announced that beginning Monday, April 19, DC residents who are 65 and older will be able to get vaccinated without an appointment at walk-up sites across DC. Each site, which will administer either the two-dose Pfizer vaccine or the two-dose Moderna vaccine, will be able to accommodate up to 30 walk-in appointments each day. Residents 65 and older can walk up during the days and times listed below while appointments last. The appointments at the Bald Eagle Recreation Center are limited to residents from Wards 7 and 8 and are open to any resident from those two wards who is 18 or older.
On Monday, April 12, all DC residents 16 and older became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Washington, DC. To ensure that DC is able to get the vaccine out as efficiently as possible, the Mayor is calling on all DC residents to pre-register for a vaccination appointment by going to vaccinate.dc.gov or calling 1-855-363-0333. Since the pre-registration system launched, approximately 92,120 individuals have already pre-registered, received an invitation, and booked an appointment. To date, approximately 119,791 individuals have pre-registered for and are awaiting an appointment.
Earlier this week, Mayor Bowser called on residents of DC, Maryland, and Virginia to pre-register for a vaccination appointment in the state in which they live:
DC residents are encouraged to pre-register in DC at vaccinate.dc.gov or by calling 1-855-363-0333
Maryland residents are encouraged to pre-register in Maryland at covidvax.maryland.gov or by calling 1-855-634-6829
Virginia residents are encouraged to pre-register in Virginia at vaccinate.virginia.gov or by calling 877-829-4682
Individuals who previously pre-registered for an appointment through the portal and who have already received their vaccination elsewhere can email vaccinatedc@dc.gov or call 1-855-363-0333 to have their information removed from the pre-registration list. Eligible DC residents are also reminded of other ways to make an appointment, including:
Directly through their health care provider
Veterans and veteran spouses can get vaccinated through the VA Medical Center and can learn more by calling (202) 745-4342
DC residents 65 and older, teachers and school staff, child care workers, and health care workers can book appointments through the CVS site (when appointments are available)
With the new pre-registration system, individuals can register online at any time on any day via vaccinate.dc.gov, or register by phone by calling the call center at 1-855-363-0333, Monday-Friday from 8 am to 7 pm or on Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 4 pm. Language translation services are available through the call center. Call center staff are also able to take calls from 711, a free video relay service from the FCC that allows individuals to sign with a hearing interpreter who is then talking on the phone with a call taker. Each week, invitations are sent:
Thursdays by 10 am
Sundays by 10 am
And, only if any appointments still need to be filled, Tuesdays by 10 am.
Anyone who registers by 11:59 p.m. tonight and who is currently eligible for the vaccine in DC will be part of the randomized selection process tomorrow morning. Once invitations go out, individuals have 48 hours to book their appointment. If an individual does not book their appointment, their name will go back in the pre-registration system (after three unanswered invitations an individual will need to register in the system again).
The current list of priority zip codes includes: 20010, 20011, 20017, 20018, 20002, 20003, 20019, 20020, 20032, 20422 and 20593. Priority zip codes are determined by identifying areas where residents have been disproportionately burdened by COVID-19 and areas that are lagging in COVID-19 vaccination coverage.
Mayor Bowser’s three operating principles for the pre-registration system are: 1) an equitable distribution of the vaccine; 2) a consistent scheduling cadence so residents know what to expect; and 3) a shared responsibility, across our community, to get people pre-registered. DC still needs more vaccine, and we will continue to advocate for additional doses so that we can save lives and meet the demand of our community.
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