Front Desk User Manual

Your Roles and Activities in VAMS

As a Front Desk user, you are the first person who vaccine or COVID-19 test recipients see at the clinic. You will use VAMS to:

• Check in recipients,
• Create walk-in appointments, and
• Cancel appointments

Your role in VAMS is critical to the clinic's success. You have unique activities that only you, as front desk staff, can perform in VAMS and some that you share with other users. The VAMS Role and Activity Matrix below shows the tasks available in VAMS for specific roles.

Your Roles and Activities in VAMS

Other role-specific user manuals are available within "Resources for Jurisdictions, Clinics and Organizations". If you have questions about specific tasks in VAMS that are relevant to your role or other roles at your clinic, quick reference guides are also available on this page.

Manage Recipients and Appointments

You must activate an account in VAMS to use the system. After your clinic administrator enters your name and email address in VAMS, you will receive an email with a VAMS registration link.

Visit "Getting Started in VAMS" for directions on how to create an account in VAMS. If you need additional support for your role or have questions about creating an account, registering for VAMS, or accessing VAMS, this page has answers to common questions.

After you have activated your VAMS account, you can use VAMS to complete your everyday front desk tasks, including checking in recipients and managing their appointments.

Account Creation: Frequently Asked Questions

Click on the buttons below to go to the corresponding sections in this user manual.

Check In Vaccine or COVID-19 Test Recipients

Manage Recipient Appointments

Recipient Check-in

As front desk staff, your main responsibility is checking in vaccine or COVID-19 test recipients. The process of checking in a recipient includes verifying their appointment in VAMS, confirming their identity, and confirming they have completed the required documents. The check-in process must be completed before the healthcare professional can administer vaccine or a COVID-19 test to a recipient.

The first step to check in a recipient is to find their appointment in VAMS. You can find recipients by either scanning their appointment QR code or by manually searching. Review the sections below to learn how to perform these actions.

Self-Registration for Vaccination: Frequently Asked Questions

Use QR Code to Find Recipient Appointment in VAMS

The recipient receives a unique QR code after scheduling their appointment.

• Use a mobile device to scan the recipient's QR code. If you are logged into VAMS on the mobile device, scanning the QR code will take you to the recipient's appointment record in VAMS. If you are not logged into VAMS on the mobile device, the log-in screen will appear, and you will need to log in before accessing the recipient's appointment record.
• After finding the recipient's appointment in the table, click the Recipient's Name.

Manually Find Recipient Appointment in VAMS

You can manually search for appointments if the QR code is unavailable, or you do not have a barcode scanner. Follow the steps below to manually search for appointments:

• Go to the Appointments table on the Recipient Check-In tab.
• Use the drop-down in the table header to filter appointments scheduled for today, the next seven days, future appointments, or cancelled appointments. You also can sort appointments in the table by clicking any of the column headers to order the rows by those criteria.
• Or you may search for an appointment by entering the recipient's Name or Email Address in the search bar at the top right of the appointments table. Note that you can search the recipient's full name, or just the beginning of their name. For example, you can find the appointment for a recipient named William Smith by searching for "Will."
• After finding the recipient's appointment in the table, click the Recipient's Name.

Pre-vaccination Questionnaire Completion

The recipient must complete the Pre-vaccination Questionnaire before receiving their vaccination (for vaccination appointments only).

The system will indicate if the recipient has completed their Pre-vaccination Questionnaire. VAMS will allow you to check in a recipient who has not completed their Pre-vaccination Questionnaire. Please refer to your clinic's check-in procedure to determine whether you should check in recipients who have not completed their Pre-vaccination Questionnaire.

Recipients should receive a notification prior to their appointment with a link to the questionnaire. Depending how far in advance the recipient scheduled their appointment, they should have received their notification within 15–20 minutes of appointment confirmation or 12 hours prior to their appointment time.

If the recipient completed the questionnaire, "The Recipient has completed the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire" will appear on the Validate Recipient screen. If they have not completed the questionnaire, "Recipient has not completed the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire" will appear, and you will be asked to choose between one of the options below:

1. The recipient will log into their VAMS account or check their email to complete their Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire.
2. The healthcare provider will complete the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire with the recipient at the beginning of the appointment.
3. Start the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire in VAMS.

• NOTE: The third option will only be available for clinics offering School-Located Vaccines/Vaccines for Children

Select the option that aligns with your clinic's procedures.

• If you select the first or second option, click Continue. This will take you back to the Recipient Check-in tab.
• If you select the third option (to complete the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire in VAMS)and click Continue, you will be taken to a page with the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire. Allow the recipient to fill out the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire on the screen.
  • Once the recipient has completed all the required fields and clicked Continue, they will be taken to a Confirmation screen indicating that their responses have been recorded and prompting them to return the device to the clinic front desk.

Vaccine Recipient Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions

Validate Recipient Identification

After clicking Continue, you will be taken to the Validate Recipient screen.

• You must validate:
  • The recipient's first and last name
  • Their date of birth (DOB)
  • Consent received (if applicable)
  • The recipient matches their photo ID, if a photo ID is required
• Select the form of identification the recipient used, or select No ID Required for this Clinic, if applicable.
• Recipients must reschedule their appointment if your clinic requires ID and they do not have a valid ID.
  • If a recipient does not have a valid ID, select ID Required, but Not Provided, then click Next to cancel their appointment. VAMS sends a notification to the recipient asking them to reschedule their appointment.
• If the clinic offers School-Located Vaccines/Vaccines for Children, the front desk will have the ability to validate health insurance information during the check-in process. You will be able to:
  • Collect Recipient Insurance Information
• Indicate whether the recipient has valid health insurance.
  • If the answer is Yes, fill out the Insurance Provider, Group Number, and Policy Number fields and upload files (jpg, jpeg, or png format) for the Insurance Card.
  • If the answer is No, proceed with remaining steps.
  • Identify Funding Eligibility
• Select the recipient's Funding Eligibility Status from the Recipient Funding Eligibility drop-down menu.
  • NOTE: The funding eligibility will be stored and displayed on the Log Vaccination screen when the Healthcare Professional is recording a vaccination for the recipient.
  • Confirm Recipient Consent
• Indicate whether the recipient (or their representative/parent/guardian) have completed the Pre-Vaccination Questionnaire and consent forms.
• If all information is correct and the recipient is on time for their appointment, click Next.

Manage Recipient Appointments

Appointment Status

• Once a recipient is checked in, they will move to the clinic healthcare professional's view in VAMS and will no longer appear in the Appointments table for front desk users.
• If the clinic or recipient cancels the appointment, the recipient's appointment status will change to "Cancelled" and the recipient's appointment will appear under the Cancelled Appointments view.

Canceling Appointments

You can cancel a recipient's appointment by following this process:

• In the Appointments table on the Recipient Check-In tab, click Cancel in the Cancel Appointment column.
  • NOTE: If a recipient is already checked in but wishes to cancel their appointment, the recipient must either log into their Recipient Portal to cancel the appointment themselves, or the clinic healthcare professional can cancel the appointment for them, since checked-in recipients no longer appear in the front desk user's view.
• A screen with the appointment details will appear.
• Select a Cancellation Reason from the drop-down menu.
• Click Cancel Appointment to cancel the appointment. Click Keep Appointment if you no longer want to cancel the appointment.

A cancellation confirmation message will appear. Click OK and you will return to the Clinic Portal home page.

Auto-Cancellation of No-Show Recipients

If a recipient does not appear for their appointment after four hours, VAMS marks them as a "no-show," then cancels the appointment. You do not need to take further action.

The system processes these cancellations once per day. Any no-show appointments originally scheduled before 2 PM will show as cancelled by 6 PM that same evening. Appointments originally scheduled after 2 PM will show as cancelled the following day. Cancellation emails for no-show recipients will be sent to them via their preferred contact method during these system processes.

Appointment Cancellations: Frequently Asked Questions

Rescheduling Appointments

You can reschedule a recipient's appointment by following this process:

• In the Appointments table on the Recipient Check-In tab, click View Details/Modify in the View Details column.
• Click Reschedule Appointment.
• On the Clinic Location page, search for and find a clinic, then select an Available Appointment Date on the calendar located on the left side of the page.
• Select the appointment time by clicking a Time Slot, then click Next.
• Review the selected appointment location, date, and time with the recipient.
• Click Reschedule Appointment to reschedule or Previous to make any changes.
• After clicking Reschedule Appointment, you will see a confirmation that the recipient's appointment is scheduled. The confirmation includes the appointment details and a QR code for contactless check-in. NOTE: If the recipient provided a contact method, they will also receive the appointment confirmation through their preferred contact method.

Search For and Edit Recipients

When a recipient requests that you schedule them a walk-in appointment or a future appointment, your first step is to search for the recipient to see if they already have a VAMS account.

• On the Recipient Check-In tab, click Search for Existing Recipient in the upper right corner.
• You have two search options.
  • Enter one of these fields: Email Address, Cell Phone Number, VAMS ID, or External System ID.OR
  • Enter all of these fields: First Name, Last Name, and Date of Birth. You can also enter the recipient's state to further refine your search, but this is optional.
• Click Search.
• If the recipient is already in VAMS, their name will appear in the search results table. You can select the Checkbox next to their name, then click either Schedule Walk-In or Schedule Future Appointment (if a vaccination clinic) or Schedule Testing Appointment (if a COVID-19 testing clinic). See Manage Recipient Appointments for more information on scheduling these appointments.
• If the recipient does not appear in the search results, you can create a new recipient record by clicking Add New Recipient.
• Follow the steps in the Add New Recipients portion of this manual to finish adding the recipient.

Edit a Recipient Record

You can edit recipient records for all recipients at your clinic. This does not include vaccination or COVID-19 test records (e.g., date of vaccination, vaccine manufacturer). You can only edit email addresses for recipients who have not registered their VAMS account. If an existing recipient does not have a VAMS account but would like one, you can create one for them by editing their information and selecting Yes to creating a VAMS account.

• To edit the record, click Search for Existing Recipient on the Recipient Check-in tab.
• Search for the recipient by entering the required information outlined above.
• Once you've found the correct recipient, click their Name in the search results table to advance to the Recipient Information page.
• On the Recipient Information page, click Edit Information to make any changes to the recipient record. Once you are finished, click Save.

NOTE: You cannot use this functionality to edit the recipient's vaccination or COVID-19 test record, edit the records of recipients who have completed their vaccination schedule, or edit the records of recipients who have already registered in VAMS. If a registered recipient needs to edit their record, they can do so in the Recipient Portal.

Add New Recipients

Option 1: Adding a new recipient from Search

If you searched for an existing recipient but they did not exist in the system, you can add them as a new recipient by clicking Add New Recipient from the Search page.

Option 2: Adding a new recipient from the Recipient Check-In tab

In addition to adding a new recipient through the Search function, you can also directly add a new recipient to VAMS from the Recipient Check-In tab by clicking Add New Recipient.

Regardless of which option you use, you are directed to the same Recipient Information page.

• On the Recipient Information page, answer Yes or No to the question asking if you'd like to associate the recipient with a representative or guardian.
  • If you answer Yes, you must enter the representative/guardian's first and last name and date of birth. All other information concerning the representative/guardian is optional.
• Enter the required recipient details:
  • First name
  • Last name
  • Date of birth
  • Sex
  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • Home address
• Entering an email address or phone number is optional.
• If you enter an email address or cell phone number, you will see a Communication Preferences section. In this section:
  • Select the recipient's Preferred Contact Method (email, SMS, or prefer not to receive communications).NOTE: If you select "I prefer not to receive any communication from VAMS" under preferred contact method, the recipient will not receive any notifications from VAMS, including appointment follow-ups.
  • Once you've selected a preferred contact method, you must select the recipient's Preferred Language for messages (English or Español).
• Entering the following information is optional:
• Insurance information
• Emergency contact
• Whether or not you want to create a VAMS account for the recipient.
  • NOTE: If you select to create a VAMS account, VAMS will send the recipient a registration email or SMS, based on their preferred contact method.
• Once you've entered all applicable information, click Next.
• Review the information provided and check the Box at the bottom of the screen, confirming you have reviewed the information with the recipient, and it is accurate.
• Click Submit.
• Once you've created the recipient, you can click either Schedule Walk-in or Schedule Future Appointment (if a vaccination clinic) or Schedule a COVID-19 Testing Appointment (if a COVID-19 testing clinic). See Manage Recipient Appointments for more information on scheduling these appointments.
• NOTE: If you attempt to create a VAMS account for a user with a preferred contact method (email or cell phone) that is already associated with an existing VAMS account, you will receive an error message asking you to either change the preferred contact method to register a new account or choose not to create an account and proceed as a guest. If you select "No" to creating a VAMS account, a pop-up window will ask if you want to link the new registration to the existing VAMS account.

Bulk Import Recipients

You can bulk import recipients to your clinic by clicking Import Recipients under the Recipient Check-In tab.

• In the Import Recipients pop-up window, click the Recipient Import Template Version 9.0 hyperlink to download and fill out the recipient import template.
  • Click Upload Files and upload your completed import recipient template—or drop the file into the Drop File field. Follow instructions on the screen to ensure that you are uploading a compatible file.
• Click Close to exit the pop-up window.
• To view and download bulk recipient import files that you have successfully uploaded to VAMS, navigate to the Data Import tab from your portal landing page and select Recipient Import from the drop-down menu.
  • Click the desired Hyperlinked Import ID from the table list view and click the desired Hyperlinked File Title to download that file to your computer.

Recipient Self-Registration (Clinic QR Code)

Front desk staff in clinics whose jurisdictions use guest registration will see a clinic specific QR code on their VAMS landing page. You can download and print this QR code to allow recipients to scan it and be directed to your jurisdiction's guest registration page. From this page, recipients can complete their registration and schedule their vaccination appointment at your clinic.

Schedule Recipient Vaccination Appointments

You can schedule walk-in appointments or future appointments for recipients from multiple places in VAMS. You will see Schedule Walk-In and Schedule Future Appointment buttons when you:

• Search for and find an existing recipient.
• Add a new recipient, either from the search page or using the Add New Recipient button (see Add New Recipients).

The process flows detailed in this section are the same regardless of where you click Schedule Walk-In or Schedule Future Appointment.

Schedule Walk-In Appointments for Recipients

NOTE: If the recipient already has an appointment scheduled at another clinic, after clicking Continue, the system will ask if you want to keep that appointment or cancel it and schedule a walk-in appointment at your clinic. Make your selection. If proceeding with the walk-in appointment, confirm cancellation of the recipient's conflicting appointment. This will automatically create a walk-in appointment at your clinic.

You will see an appointment confirmation screen with a QR code. If your clinic has QR code scanning capabilities, you can scan this code to check in the recipient. Otherwise, click Back to Clinic Portal and check in the recipient using the manual check-in process outlined in Recipient Check-In.

Scheduling Recipients at Third-Party Clinics: Frequently Asked Questions

Schedule Future Appointments for Vaccination Recipients

NOTE: The Vaccine Manufacturer and Vaccination Date fields only appear if you select Yes.

• On the Clinic Location page, select an Available Appointment Date on the calendar located on the left side of the page. Days with available appointments are underlined in green. Days with no available appointments are underlined in gray. Days the clinic is not accepting appointments are underlined in red. Days completely grayed out are days the clinic is not operating. NOTE: If you work at a mobile clinic with two or more locations that are currently active, the system will ask you to select the location for the appointment before continuing to the date and time selection screen.
• Select the appointment time by clicking a Time Slot, then click Next. Only available time slots will appear. Each time slot will tell you how many appointments are currently available for that time (e.g., "2 slots" means two appointments are currently available at that time). NOTE: The system will hold the selected appointment time slot for 10 minutes. If the appointment is not confirmed by that time, the system will release it.
• Review the selected appointment location, date, and time with the recipient.
• Click Submit to confirm the appointment or Previous to make any changes.
• After clicking Submit, you will see a confirmation that the recipient's appointment is scheduled. The confirmation includes the appointment details and a QR code for contactless check-in. NOTE: If the recipient provided a contact method, they will also receive the appointment confirmation through their preferred contact method.

Notes about appointment scheduling:

• VAMS will automatically cancel a second dose COVID-19 appointment if the recipient's first dose appointment is cancelled, rescheduled, or the recipient receives the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine.
• If a walk-in recipient has already scheduled their first and second COVID-19 dose appointments, the front desk user can reschedule their first dose appointment for the same day of the walk-in. The system will automatically cancel the second dose appointment. After the first dose appointment is confirmed, the front desk user can then schedule the second dose appointment on behalf of the recipient.

Schedule Recipient COVID-19 Test Appointments

You can schedule walk-in appointments or future appointments for COVID-19 test recipients from multiple places in VAMS. You will see Schedule Testing Appointment button when you:

• Search for and find an existing recipient.
• Add a new recipient, either from the search page or using the Add New Recipient button (see Add New Recipients).

Schedule Walk-In or Future Appointments for COVID-19 Test Recipients

• To schedule a walk-in or future COVID-19 Testing Appointment, click Schedule Testing Appointment.
• Select the COVID-19 Test type requested for this appointment. Options include: Diagnostic Lab Test- PCR (Molecular-PCR SARS-CoV2), Rapid Diagnostic Test (IDNow Rapid COVID-19 PCR), Rapid Antigen Test (BinaxNOW Rapid COVID-19 Antigen), and COVID-19 Antibody (SST).
• Click Continue.
• Complete the pre-testing questionnaire for the recipient.
• The recipient must confirm this information is accurate. Once the recipient confirms this information, you can check the confirmation box in VAMS and click Submit.
• If the recipient does not have another scheduled appointment, the system will ask you to confirm you want to schedule a walk-in or future appointment.
  • NOTE: If the recipient already has an appointment scheduled, after clicking Continue, the system will ask if you want to keep that appointment or cancel it and schedule a new Make your selection. If proceeding with the new appointment, confirm cancellation of the recipient's conflicting appointment. Then choose between scheduling a new walk-in or future test.
• Select Schedule Walk-in Test or Schedule Future Test as applicable.
• If you selected Schedule Walk-in Test:
  • You will see an appointment confirmation screen with a QR code. If your clinic has QR code scanning capabilities, you can scan this code to check in the recipient. Otherwise, click Back to Clinic Portal and check in the recipient using the manual check-in process outlined in Recipient Check-In.
• If you selected Schedule Future Test:
  • On the Clinic Location page, select an Available Appointment Date on the calendar located on the left side of the page. Days with available appointments are underlined in green. Days with no available appointments are underlined in gray. Days the clinic is not accepting appointments are underlined in red. Days completely grayed out are days the clinic is not operating.
  • Select the appointment time by clicking a Time Slot, then click Next. Only available time slots will appear. Each time slot will tell you how many appointments are currently available for that time (e.g., "2 slots" means two appointments are currently available at that time). NOTE: The system will hold the selected appointment time slot for 10 minutes. If the appointment is not confirmed by that time, the system will release it.
  • Review the selected appointment location, date, and time with the recipient.
  • Click Submit to confirm the appointment or Previous to make any changes.
  • After clicking Submit, you will see a confirmation that the recipient's appointment is scheduled. The confirmation includes the appointment details and a QR code for contactless check-in. NOTE: If the recipient provided a contact method, they will also receive the appointment confirmation through their preferred contact method.

Account Creation: Frequently Asked Questions

Access Multiple Clinics in VAMS

You may need to perform the same or different user roles at multiple clinics. After the clinic administrator at each clinic adds you as a user for their clinic, you can easily access multiple clinics after logging into VAMS.

• From any page in VAMS, click the Drop-Down Arrow next to your name in the upper right corner to access the drop-down menu.
• Click Switch Portals.
  • If you have multi-portal access (i.e., you have access to more than one portal—the Clinic Portal and Recipient Portal, for example) this will take you to the Portal Selection. Click the Clinic Portal button, and then you will see the Clinic Selection page.
  • If you only have multi-clinic access (i.e., you have a clinic role at more than one clinic but do not have access to another portal) clicking Switch Portals will take you straight to the Clinic Selection page.
• From the Clinic Selection page, choose which clinic you want to switch to by clicking the Access Portal button under the clinic name.

VAMS Downtime Procedures

VAMS is occasionally taken down for scheduled system maintenance. All VAMS functions will be unavailable for all users during these scheduled downtimes. You will be notified prior to scheduled system downtimes.

All users should consider any processes they may need to complete prior to the downtime, such as:

• Scheduling vaccination or testing appointments,
• Completing Pre-vaccination Questionnaires, and
• Viewing/printing vaccination certificates
  • QUICK TIP: If you need help with access to vaccination certificates, visit the quick reference guide, "Accessing Vaccination Certificates in VAMS".

Clinics should consider these temporary processes so they can continue to administer vaccine successfully during downtimes:

• Review your upcoming appointments to see if your clinic has scheduled appointments during this time.
• Print or otherwise document the names of recipients who have appointments during this time.
• Print CDC's Pre-vaccination Screening Checklist: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/downloads/pre-vaccination-screening-form.pdf
• Print FDA's Emergency Use Authorization Fact Sheets, if necessary: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/eua/index.html
• Print CDC's Immunization Information System Data Requirement Form to document the vaccine administration information so you can add it into VAMS when the system comes back online: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/reporting/downloads/IIS-data-requirement-form.pdf.
• Make a plan to enter the data from these appointments in VAMS as soon as possible.

VAMS Downtime: Frequently Asked Questions

User Access Support

Quick Tip: Some users may not be able to access VAMS and may request your help in gaining access. A quick reference guide on troubleshooting for user access is available with a list of solutions. Additional FAQs about accessing VAMS can be found on the "Getting Started in VAMS" page. You can also find support within VAMS by clicking the Help Link in the upper right corner of the navigation bar.

Submit a Question to the VAMS Help Desk

• From the Help page, click Submit a Question.
• Click Submit a Case and select New Clinic Case.
• When logged into the system, your name and email address will be prepopulated in your case.
• Select the Category of your question (and Subcategory, if applicable), select your Jurisdiction, type the Subject of your question, then type your Question in the text box.
• After clicking Confirm, a message will appear on the screen confirming your question was sent.
• Once you receive a response to your question, you can communicate back and forth with the support team by replying to the email.

NOTE: Do not edit the subject line of the email or the support team member who initially responded to your question will not receive it.