Step-by-Step Vaccination Guide

On Monday, January 25, the Vermont Department of Health opened vaccine scheduling for those 75 and older who live in Vermont, work in Vermont, or receive their primary care from a primary care provider in Vermont. Our aim is to get everyone in our state and all of our patients vaccinated as quickly as possible. Here’s your step-by-step guide to getting yours.

• If you are 75 or older, visit https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/vaccine. If you are not yet 75, please wait patiently for your age group to be called. You will learn about the availability of vaccines for people your age in local news sources and at svhealthcare.org.
• If you need help navigating the Internet, ask an Internet-enabled person to talk you through it.  If you do not have an Internet connection or encounter other difficulty on the site, you can call 855-722-7878.
• There you will find a link to create an account and schedule your vaccine.
• Note that each person registering will need a unique e-mail address. Follow the prompts and fill in the requested information. You will receive an e-mail confirmation that includes a link that you will use to make an appointment.
• Choose an appointment slot. Note: if there is not an appointment available at your nearest clinic, try the others nearby. The benefit to a central schedule like the one that Vermont is using is that we are more likely to get all of the appointment slots filled and get our vaccines sooner.
• Write down your appointment and arrange transportation, if needed. It is very important not to miss your appointment. Doing so could mean that a valuable dose of vaccine goes to waste. Make every effort to keep your appointment.
• On the day of your appointment, dress in clothing that makes it possible for you to easily expose your upper arm. 
• You will be directed to a vaccinator, roll up your sleeve, and receive your vaccine.
• You will then be directed to an observation area, where you will be monitored for 15 minutes.
• During this time, you will receive your “I got vaccinated sticker.”  
• You will also make an appointment for your second dose. Write it down.
• You can sign up for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s cell phone app, V-Safe, which provides daily check-ins and asks you to report side effects. This is an expedient and direct way for vaccine makers to know exactly how their vaccine performs in the days following vaccination.
• Finally, we encourage you to spend your time taking the perfect selfie to share with your friends on social media. Letting your social networks know that you got vaccinated is a great way to encourage them to get vaccinated too. The sooner the majority of people get vaccinated, the sooner we can travel and gather again
• Over the next few days, 1 – 2 percent of people notice mild side effects. The rate and severity of side effects for the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccines is similar to those experienced after the flu shot. Monitor your side effects, treat them with an over-the-counter pain reliever as needed, and use the V-Safe app, if you like.
• Inside your body, you are building immunity. Just how much immunity is achieved after the first dose has not been studied.
• Just as you were certain to make your first dose appointment, don’t miss your second one.
• The process for your second shot will be similar to your first one. You should receive it at the same clinic.
• Recipients of the second dose experience side effects at a rate as high as 15%. This could mean having a headache, a fever, or muscle aches for 1 – 2 days. This response is more common among younger people. Over-the-counter pain reliever manages most of the side effects. Even the worst of the side effects is way better than getting COVID, which could kill you or someone you know.
• Continue using the app to report any symptoms you have.
• In the days and weeks following your vaccination, your body is building a complicated response to COVID-19. After about 3 weeks, you should be fully protected. If you were to come into contact COVID-19, your body will be able to fight it off immediately, before it makes you sick. In fact, you would never know that you encountered the disease.

Note that we should go on using our mitigation measures—masking and distancing—for a while longer. Society will get the greatest benefit—and be able to safely return to normal—once most people have been vaccinated. When most people do, we will give and receive hugs from our family and friends again, travel again, go to parties, and do all of the things we love. And that’s something we can all look forward to.

Marie George, MD, FIDSA, is an infectious disease specialist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.