COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To ensure our nation's underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 are equitably vaccinated against COVID-19, HRSA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program on February 9, 2021, to directly allocate a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine to select HRSA health centers.

(Added: 2/19/2021)

In the first phase of the program, 250 HRSA-funded health centers were invited to participate. The health centers invited for this initial phase specialize in caring for populations that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including people experiencing homelessness, agricultural workers, residents of public housing, and those with limited English proficiency. 

In the second phase, to further expand the program and accelerate the delivery of vaccines to medically underserved communities and disproportionately affected populations, HRSA and CDC invited an additional 700 health centers to participate. These 700 health centers will have the opportunity to join the program by late April, increasing the total number of invited health center participants to 950.

In the third phase, HRSA has invited all remaining HRSA-funded health centers and Health Center Program look-alikes to access vaccines through the program, if they wish to join and have the necessary capabilities.

Health centers currently enrolled or invited to participate in the program are available on the HRSA website. 

(Updated: 4/7/2021)

The health centers invited for participation in the initial phase of the program serve a significant number of people experiencing homelessness, migrant/seasonal agricultural workers, residents of public housing, and those with limited English proficiency, serve patients age 65 and older, and include at least one health center in each state or territory. HRSA used annual performance data to assess health centers against the above criteria.

(Added: 2/19/2021)

We looked at a broad range of factors, in an effort to reach communities disproportionately hit by the pandemic. We looked at whether the health centers selected could reach low income communities, communities of color, tribal communities, rural and frontier communities, as well as whether health centers could reach these populations through mobile vans.

(Added: 3/11/2021)

There are no cohort assignments in Phase 3. Health centers and look-alikes are invited to join the program on a rolling basis, which will enable them to participate as soon as they are ready.

(Added: 4/7/2021)

After health centers complete and submit the required Conditions of Participation agreement and Readiness Assessment, and obtain a VTrcks PIN for each proposed site, HRSA will provide instructions on how to set up an account to order through the program as early as the week of April 19 (for delivery and administration the following week).

Health centers must log into the Vaccine Program Online Community to submit the Conditions of Participation agreement and Readiness Assessment.

(Added: 4/7/2021)

Yes, HRSA has invited all HRSA-funded health centers and Health Center Program look-alikes to access vaccines through the program, if they wish to join and have the necessary capabilities.

(Updated: 4/7/2021)

Health centers wishing to opt out of the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program (i.e., not interested in participating in the HRSA federal allocation for COVID-19 vaccines) should submit a ticket to Health Center Program Support indicating they are not interested in participating and would like to opt out. Health centers should provide a brief justification (1-2 sentences) for opting out of the program.

(Added: 4/7/2021)

Health centers interested in participating in the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program at a later time should proceed with completing and submitting the Conditions of Participation agreement and Readiness Assessment, and obtaining VTrckS PINs for the sites to which they would eventually like to have a direct allocation of COVID-19 vaccine delivered. This will enable HRSA to create a VPoP vaccine ordering account for the health center so they can order vaccines whenever they would like to.

Health centers must log into the Vaccine Program Online Community to submit the Conditions of Participation agreement and Readiness Assessment.

(Added: 4/7/2021)

To participate in the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program, health centers must agree to a Conditions of Participation agreement, which includes:

1. Enrollment in and compliance with the CDC's U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Program;
2. Accurate completion and approval of the HRSA Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program Readiness Assessment;
3. Data reporting (i.e., required vaccine supply and administration data reported to state/jurisdictions, as required in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Agreement, as well as to the Health Center COVID-19 Weekly Survey and addendum); and
4. Other requirements (i.e., administer COVID-19 vaccines provided through the program to established health center patients and other individuals who present for such services (i.e., new patients) as capacity permits; ensure timely administration of all COVID-19 vaccine doses received through the program).

HRSA and the CDC will work with state and jurisdictional public health officials, Primary Care Associations, and health centers to assess and support health center readiness and capacity to participate in the program.

(Updated: 3/26/2021)

Yes, timely completion of the HRSA Health Center COVID-19 Weekly Survey and the addendum to the survey is mandatory for health centers participating in the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program.

(Added: 2/19/2021)

HRSA has established policies and practices to maximize the impact and effectiveness of the Health Center Vaccine Program within the program’s weekly national vaccine allocation. In an effort to ensure equitable access to vaccines for all program participants, HRSA has instituted vaccine ordering caps at the site and health center level. This policy ensures that enrolled health centers will continue to have access to vaccine each week.

Participating health centers are encouraged to order the type and amount of vaccine that they are able to store and administer to meet the needs of the populations served, and to ensure that they can administer their full weekly vaccine order within 7 days. Each week, HRSA reviews health centers’ vaccine order requests, along with other allocation, inventory, and administration data, to develop final orders within the program’s total vaccine allocation.

The Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program is designed as a separate, direct allocation for health centers. The program is intended to supplement — not supplant — existing vaccine distributions that health centers are receiving from states.

(Updated: 5/3/2021)

Yes, a health center can receive shipment at one or more locations and then transfer or divide doses to any of their sites that meet the following three requirements:

1. The site is within the health center’s scope of project and has the appropriate capacity to administer vaccine;
2. The site has an established CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Agreement in place; and
3. The site has been onboarded in VPoP.

Pre-approval is not required from HRSA to transfer vaccines to another health center site. However, the transfer should be documented in VPoP using the transfer tab. Health centers must report transferred inventory at the site to which the vaccine was transferred.

(Added: 4/27/2021)

Vaccines provided through the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program are to be administered to established health center patients and other individuals (i.e., new patients) who present for such services, as capacity permits. Vaccines from the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program must be used for vaccination activities conducted on behalf of the health center. Some considerations for whether vaccination activities would be on behalf of the health center include but are not limited to:

• The health center’s governing board retains control and authority over the activities/provision of any services, regardless of whether the activities take place at a health center site or at another location within the community;
• The health center establishes and/or maintains a patient/vaccination record for all individuals served; and
• The health center bills for the vaccine administrative fee, as applicable.

For more information on assessing whether services or activities are performed on behalf of the health center, review the Considerations for Health Center Scope of Project During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

HRSA continues to strongly encourage health center partnerships with public health and other community providers to maximize the equitable vaccination of underserved and vulnerable populations, including exploring potential opportunities for these partners to support efforts to expand the reach of health center-led COVID-19 vaccination activities and events.

However, health centers that participate in the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program may not redistribute vaccine doses to state, local, tribal or territorial public health partners, other health care providers, or otherwise redistribute Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program allocated vaccine for vaccination activities on behalf of those organizations/entities.

Participating health centers may transfer COVID-19 vaccine doses among health center sites that meet the program’s specific criteria. For more information, see the preceding question “Can a health center transfer vaccines allocated through the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program to another in-scope site?” on this FAQ webpage. Questions regarding restrictions on redistributing vaccine doses allocated to a health center from the state or other source outside of the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program should be directed to the CDC and the state.

(Added: 4/27/2021)

The intent of the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program is to ensure underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 are equitably vaccinated against COVID-19.

Health centers are to ensure timely administration of all COVID-19 vaccine doses provided through the program to established health center patients and other individuals who present for such services (i.e., new patients) and meet criteria for vaccination, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

If a health center does not have sufficient capacity to vaccinate individuals beyond its established patient population (e.g., due to limited Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), supplies, or staff capacity), the health center should refer patients to other appropriate providers.

(Added: 3/10/2021)

Patients can contact their local health center to find out about availability of COVID-19 vaccine appointments. To find your local health center, please use HRSA's Find a Health Center tool.

(Added: 2/19/2021)

For the most up to date information regarding which health centers are currently able to order vaccines through the program, please see the list of participating health centers by state.

(Updated: 3/11/2021)

All individuals age 16 and over are eligible to be vaccinated through the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program.

(Updated: 4/21/2021)