COVID-19 Provider Portal

• Remember to populate race and ethnicity data for individuals receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Residents are not required to visit the District Health Centers for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. They may obtain their second doses at the same facility/provider where they obtained their first dose.
• Please find State Executive Orders from Governor Kemp here.
• Please text COVIDGAHCP to 77297 for provider updates and COVIDGAGEN to 77297 for general updates.

The COVID-19 vaccine management system referred to as VMS is available to all pandemic providers across Georgia. VMS is used for COVID vaccine ordering, inventory management, and dose administration. The system provides an efficient and effective method to replace the previous COVID vaccine allocation process.

Call the Georgia Immunization Program at 404-657-3158 or email [email protected] if you need assistance accessing or navigating VMS.

VMS Overview Training - this is a training requirement of all new pandemic providers. Please click here to access the module.

VMS Functionality Training - this training goes in depth to the different actions providers will need to complete in VMS. Please click here to access the module.

Click  here   to access and download the VMS Provider user guide.

Click  here   to access and download the VMS Reporting user guide.

“Why isn’t my inventory quantity accurate?”

COVID vaccine inventory should be managed in VMS. To perform inventory deductions (-), please access the Inventory Disposal tile in VMS. If you wish to increase the inventory shown on hand (+), this will be done within the Inventory Addition tile in VMS.

Currently, all vaccine requests are being fulfilled through direct shipments from Pfizer or McKesson or provider-to-provider transfers facilitated by your assigned Immunization Regional Consultant (IRC). Providers with excess vaccines may contact their assigned IRC so these doses can be considered for a future transfer.

Providers will be contacted directly by their assigned IRC to confirm vaccine requests and schedule delivery dates and times.

To minimize the number expired doses, we encourage providers to: 

• Monitor expiration dates weekly, rotate stock as needed, and follow a “first in, first out” strategy to manage inventory.   
• If nearing expiration, check posted manufacturer information for current expiration date information by product or vaccine lot.  
  • Pfizer Expiration Date: 12 months from the date of manufacture if store in a Ultracold Storage Unit or 10 weeks if stored in a refrigerator
  • Moderna Expiration Date Lookup Tool 
  • Novavax Expiration Date Lookup Tool
  • Janssen/Johnson and Johnson Expiration Date Lookup Tool

How to handle expired or expiring COVID vaccine supply:

• Upon expiration, providers who can safely quarantine expired doses in the appropriate storage unit environment should:
  • Quarantine doses and mark them “Do Not Use”.
  • Place vaccine in a storage unit where the risk of inadvertently administering an expired dose can be avoided
• Providers unable to safely quarantine expired doses should:
  • Based on the latest expiration information, REMOVE expired vaccine from the storage unit IMMEDIATELY. Do not give staff an opportunity to administer expired vaccine.   

If expired vaccine is inadvertently administered, it is considered a vaccine administration error and requires remediation including a VAERS report, contacting the recipient to inform them of the error, and may or may not require revaccination based on the manufacturer’s guidance.  Guidance on vaccine administration errors can be found in Appendix A of the Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized in the United States.

Vaccine storage unit temperatures must be monitored regularly and recorded at the start of each workday. Always record minimum/maximum temperatures, date, time, name of person checking/recording temperature, and actions taken if a temperature excursion occurred. Temperature records must be kept for a minimum of three years or longer if required by your practice or organization.

Providers should not contact Pfizer or Moderna to cancel a vaccine request. If a provider is not able to store a vaccine delivery, they should immediately notify the Georgia Immunization Program by calling 404 657-3158. Public health staff will work to locate a facility where the vaccine can be transferred. The facility that initially requested the vaccine should accept the shipment. Do not open the shipping container. The vaccine should be kept in a secure location until it can be picked up and moved to another location.

The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) [LS1]  provides immunity for “covered persons” from liability against any claim of loss “caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from” the distribution, administration, or use of COVID-19 vaccines approved by FDA under an EUA or BLA. The only exception to immunity is for claims involving “willful misconduct” as defined in the PREP Act. Detailed information related to legal immunity can be found here and here. If you are concerned about potential liability, we recommend speaking with your attorney directly.

The CDC has provided guidance regarding providers asking individuals for a cash payment for the administration of COVID-19 vaccine. Per CDC it is not allowable to request a payment from the client receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. More information can be found here.

All organizations and providers participating in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program:

• Must administer COVID-19 vaccine regardless of the vaccine recipient's insurance coverage status.
• May seek appropriate reimbursement from a program or plan covering COVID-19 vaccine administration fees for the recipient.
• May not seek any reimbursement, including through balance billing, from the vaccine recipient.

For additional information on filing claims for reimbursement of COVID-19 vaccine administration fees, go to:

• CMS Guidance

The current ACIP Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States can be found here.

Key points:

• COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older in the United States for the prevention of COVID-19.There is currently no FDA-approved or FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than age 6 months.The recommended schedule and use of each COVID-19 vaccine product approved under BLA or authorized under EUA varies by the age and immune status of the recipient. There are two vaccination schedules: one for people who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised and one for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.COVID-19 vaccines currently approved or authorized by FDA are effective in preventing serious outcomes of COVID-19, including severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
• Efforts to maximize the proportion of people in the United States who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 remain critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and CDC have issued interim recommendations for the use of four COVID-19 vaccines:
  • Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine/COMIRNATY
  • Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
  • Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine
  • Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted
• ACIP and CDC consider individual and public health benefits and risks along with factors such as the value placed on the intervention by the population, its acceptability to key stakeholders, feasibility of implementation, and impact on equity when making vaccine recommendations.
• These clinical considerations provide additional information to healthcare professionals and public health officials on use of COVID-19 vaccines.

Healthcare personnel can use this CDC tool to receive personalized health check-ins after they receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and should encourage all COVID-19 vaccine recipients to participate. V-safe also provides second vaccine dose reminders if needed, and telephone follow-up to anyone who reports medically significant adverse events.

The Georgia Department of Public Health is partnering with the Georgia Poison Center and PunchAlert to provide you with the latest alerts, information, and recommendations from Public Health. PunchAlert is free and allows you to receive instant updates regarding COVID-19. Text COVIDGAHCP to 77297 for provider updates and COVIDGAGEN to 77297 for general updates.

Weekly COVID vaccine inventory reporting is required by the CDC. Additionally, the CDC is directing the public to use VaccineFinder, a searchable database, to find locations offering COVID-19 vaccine. VaccineFinder allows providers to list their on-hand vaccine inventory, vaccination locations, contact and appointment information. Providers will be responsible for registering for VaccineFinder and uploading inventory and managing the publicly displayed information weekly, on Fridays. For more information about VaccineFinder and the onboarding process, please review additional resources available at: https://vaccinefinder.org/covid-provider-resources.

To view past provider webinars, please visit the DPH Provider Webinars YouTube Playlist.

Share informative videos of healthcare professionals answering common COVID-19 vaccine-related questions and myths on your social media or with patients to inform them about the COVID-19 vaccine. View the DPH "Ask an Expert" Video Series YouTube Playlist.

IAC recently created its Ask the Experts: COVID-19 web page to answer questions about the administration of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the FDA and recommended by CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This Ask the Experts web page also provides links to CDC web pages for guidance. The Ask the Experts: COVID-19 web page will grow with more Q&As as additional information becomes available and whenever new vaccines are authorized for use.

There is no data on the impact of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines on either the tuberculin skin test (TST) (administered by intradermal placement of 0.1 cc of purified protein derivative) or the interferon gamma release assay (IGRA). There is no immunologic reason to believe that a TST or blood draw for IGRA will impact the effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Please refer to this ‘COVID mRNA vaccines, TST, and IGRA’ letter for additional information.

CDC created new, web-on-demand, self-paced COVID-19 Vaccine Training Modules for Healthcare Professionals who will be administering Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines. These modules will provide information to healthcare professionals about COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Moderna, Inc. and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals based on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and guidance from the manufacturer. The target audience includes: Administrators, CHES certified health educators, Physicians, Epidemiologists, LPNs, LVNs, Medical assistants, medical students, NPs, nurse technicians, other health educators, Pharmacists, PAs, program managers RNs. Continuing Education (CE) credits are also available.

Preparing for the Potential Management of Anaphylaxis at COVID-19 Vaccination Sites – Locations administering COVID-19 vaccines should adhere to this CDC guidance for use of COVID-19 vaccines, including screening recipients for contraindications and precautions, having the necessary supplies available to manage anaphylaxis, implementing the recommended post-vaccination observation periods, and immediately treating suspected cases of anaphylaxis with intramuscular injection of epinephrine.