Teachers and school staff in nearly 40 New Hampshire school districts are eligible to begin getting COVID vaccines, and a new registration system will debut when the rest can sign up next week.
New Hampshire's new vaccine scheduling and appointment management website launched Wednesday morning.
The Vaccine & Immunization Network Interface went live at 8 a.m. as Phase 2A scheduling begins for state-managed fixed sites.
Appointments at state-managed fixed sites for Phase 2A will begin Thursday. Previously, appointments for Phase 2A were not expected to begin until next week.
All staff working in New Hampshire in the following settings are eligible for vaccination under Phase 2A:
- K-12 schools
- Licensed child care settings
- License-exempt settings enrolled with the NH DHHS – Bureau of Child Development
- Municipal or other recreation programs providing before and/or after school, vacation, or summer youth programming
- Head Start and Early Head Start Programs
- Licensed youth camps
Thousands of individuals eligible as part of Phase 2A have already been vaccinated through closed clinics run by school districts and regional public health networks.
The new website is managed by the state, which transitions New Hampshire away from reliance on the federally run Vaccine Administration Management System platform. This will allow the state to make real-time adjustments to its platform.
Using the federal system, people were required to cancel their existing appointment prior to rescheduling to a new appointment time. The new system ensures that existing appointment times are canceled only once a new appointment time is confirmed.
The new system also allows 211 call takers to directly schedule, reschedule or verify appointments for those experiencing difficulties.
The fastest way to schedule an appointment is through vaccines.nh.gov. High call volume to 211 is anticipated. Online registration in the old system will be unavailable from 6 p.m. Tuesday until 8 p.m. Wednesday as the transfer from the old website to the new one takes place. Residents can still call 211 to schedule an appointment during this time.
