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As many have heard, Skagit County Public Health recently launched an online COVID-19 vaccine scheduling tool. This new online tool will greatly increase our ability to register individuals as vaccine supply becomes available and as more clinic dates are added. We are anticipating that the online portal will streamline the registration process for people over the coming weeks.

We have heard from some individuals calling into our Vaccine Hotline that the online tool (called “PrepMod”) is a bit intimidating for those who are less familiar with online scheduling tools. It is our goal to decrease barriers to scheduling for a vaccine, and we want to do everything in our power to continue to make vaccines widely available to our community.

As more vaccines become available, Skagit County Public Health will be able to provide more clinic dates through the PrepMod online scheduler. We will communicate on our website at www.skagitcounty.net/COVIDvaccine and on our Facebook page when new clinic dates have been added.

So, here goes—a guide to Skagit County Public Health’s online registration process:

1. Get acquainted with the system…before you register!

While people can absolutely call into our Vaccine Hotline to get assistance with registering for an appointment, we want to encourage those who are able to do so, to register themselves online through PrepMod.

There are two reasons for this: (1) Our hotline has been experiencing extremely high call volumes. Though we have extended our hours and have increased staffing, there is still a chance that someone may have difficulties getting a hold of staff; and (2) Registering online will take about 10-15 minutes (depending on how tech savvy you are). By the time someone reaches our call center, all vaccine appointments may already be taken.

For these reasons, we encourage people who may be concerned about their ability to use the online scheduler to find a “Scheduling Buddy.” The online tool allows for people to register for someone else by proxy—we just ask that people be sure to enter all information correctly when doing so!

And if you need clarification on any of the directions below, please reach out to our Vaccine Hotline before you plan to register so that staff can walk you through the system. The Hotline is now available Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (360) 416-1500.

2. Check your eligibility

Before attempting to schedule an appointment at the Skagit County Fairgrounds Clinic, be sure to check your vaccine eligibility. Visit www.findyourphasewa.org to do so. You will need to enter personal information such as location, age, occupation type, living situation, and some medical history. Your eligibility is based on the information that you provide.

3. Visit PrepMod for scheduling online

If you are currently eligible for a vaccine, go to https://prepmod.doh.wa.gov/ to begin scheduling your appointment.

Click on “Find a Vaccination Clinic,” and check “COVID-19 Vaccination” under service type on the following page. You can search for a clinic by entering your address, by searching for a specific clinic, or by searching by date.

The Skagit County Public Health Clinic is located at the Skagit County Fairgrounds and will appear as “Skagit County Public Health- Fairgrounds.”

4. Choose a location and date

Vaccine clinic dates are based on our current vaccine supply. If you search under “Skagit County Public Health- Fairgrounds” and there isn’t a blue button that says “Sign up for a COVID-19 Vaccination,” this means that all clinic spaces are currently filled. You can also check under “Available Appointments” to see how many appointments remain for that specific clinic date (see below for example).

You will find locations listed by date (the image below shows 01/29/2021). Find the date that works for you, check that there is—in fact—availability, and proceed.

Please note: It is possible that during the time it takes someone to enter information into the system that available spaces are taken by other users. We know that this can be extremely frustrating, but unfortunately it is just how online scheduling works. Vaccine clinics have been filled very quickly due to high demand in recent weeks. Please do not be discouraged if you do not book an appointment the first time you try. There will be many more opportunities to schedule an appointment over the coming weeks.

5. Personal Information

Please enter information for the person seeking an appointment, including phone number, mailing address, and email address. It is crucial that all of this information is entered correctly. PrepMod registration MUST be fully completed for each person being registered.  DO NOT enter two names into one registration or you risk not receiving vaccine.

6. Health Insurance Information

This page may seem overwhelming, but don’t worry! The scheduling tool will ask you some basic information about whether you are insured or not but we do not collect any detailed insurance information as we do not charge any administration fee at our vaccination site.

7. Medical History

If you are scheduling an appointment for someone else, it will be advantageous to register while on the phone with them. You will be asked a short series of medical questions, so please be prepared to answer these. Questions include things like chronic health conditions and previous reactions to vaccinations. It is very important that these questions are answered honestly in order to avoid any issues when the individual arrives at the Fairgrounds for their appointment.

8. Provide Consent

On this page, people will be asked to provide a signature allowing consent for vaccination. By signing this form, you are giving permission for a vaccination to be administered and a record of the vaccine to be entered into a database to monitor control of COVID-19. Further, you are agreeing that the information provided is correct and that you understand the risks and benefits of getting the vaccine.

Here, a proxy can sign for someone else, and can indicate their relationship to the patient. You will be asked to provide a signature by moving your cursor like a pen (see below for an example). As you can tell, the signature doesn’t need to be perfect!

9. Review, choose a time & submit

You will have an opportunity to review your information. If something is not correct, you can edit by clicking the “BACK” button. Please note: as you progress through the pages, your information will be saved! You will not lose information entered if you use the “BACK” button on the bottom of the page.

Finally, you will be asked to pick an appointment time; you would have already chosen the date when you began entering your information.

Please note: This is where frustration may happen. It is possible that you can get all the way through to this page before finding that no appointments are available. As mentioned above, please do not be discouraged! There will be other opportunities to schedule an appointment. You can also visit www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Immunization/VaccineLocations to see if there is availability with another vaccine provider.

You will know that you have successfully made an appointment when you receive an email confirmation from Skagit County Public Health. We are unable to maintain waitlists for clinics, even if PrepMod gives you this option.  If you make an appointment with Skagit County Public Health, you are committing to keeping that appointment.  DO NOT make appointments with multiple clinics.  If you have a confirmed appointment with our clinic you should remove yourself from waitlists with other clinics.     

Skagit County Public Health recognizes that this online scheduling tool may not meet the needs of everybody, and we understand that people are anxiously awaiting their opportunity to be vaccinated. It will take several weeks to get through our current vaccine phase (Phase 1b-Tier 1), and we ask that people remain patient as we wait for more vaccine supply to become available from the State. There will come a moment in the future when vaccines are much more widely available. It will take a bit of time, and we fully expect that adjustments will need to be made along the way.

For more information about Skagit County’s vaccine roll-out, please visit www.skagitcounty.net/COVIDvaccine.