Update: This article has been updated to reflect that D.C. residents 16 and older will now be eligible for the vaccine starting April 12.
All D.C. residents over the age of 16, including American University students, will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine beginning on April 12 and can pre-register now, according to a recent announcement from the D.C. Department of Health.
D.C.’s vaccine rollout is currently in Phase 1C Tier 2, meaning that essential workers in non-public transportation, delivery services and media and mass communication are now eligible. Those who fall under Phase 1C Tier 3 — essential higher education employees, construction workers, essential information technology workers, essential workers in the federal government and those working in residential or commercial property management are eligible.
Pre-registering ensures that the registrant's information, such as occupation, demographics, COVID-19 history and contact information, is already in D.C.’s vaccination system by the time they become eligible.
“Since the pre-registration system launched, approximately 31,330 individuals have already pre-registered, received an invitation, and booked an appointment. To date, approximately 191,190 individuals have pre-registered for and are awaiting an appointment,” said the Office of the Mayor in a statement on March 31. “At this time, all residents and District workers who are not yet vaccinated are encouraged to pre-register, regardless of current eligibility.”
Once the registrant submits all of the required information, they must wait until they are contacted via phone call, text or email (depending on their contact preference) with an invitation to make an appointment. These invitations can only be used once, and the appointment must be made within 48 hours of receiving the invitation.
Invitations will be sent out on Thursdays, Sundays and Tuesdays by 10 a.m., and registrants who sign up for email alerts are encouraged to check their spam folders on the aforementioned days.
Though everyone who pre-registers will eventually receive an appointment time, if the 48-hour window is missed, the registrant must wait until their name is selected again. A person will be contacted up to three times, after which they must re-register.
There are two ways to pre-register: submitting information through the pre-registration website or contacting the call center.
Those pre-registering through the website will be directed to a questionnaire meant to determine when they will be eligible. Questions include, but are not limited to demographic information like race, ethnicity, age and gender; history of allergies and health conditions; history of COVID-19 infection or previous vaccination; and general contact information.
Those who wish to pre-register over the phone can do so by calling 1-855-363-0333 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or Saturday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
