plz help me make sure I'm following the rules
March 30, 2021 4:28 AM Subscribe
I qualify for the covid vaccine in Maryland's phase 2B, which starts today (March 30th) and was oddly fortunate to find an appointment this morning (for Thursday); can someone more familiar with Maryland's rules confirm that I was OK to book it?
I was awake at 5am this morning due to insomnia, figured I'd look at appointment availability, and happened to find an appointment for Thursday at a Walgreen's, which I booked. I only realized that I would qualify in phase 2B rather than the "everyone else" tier yesterday, so I'm not very familiar with Maryland's system and I'm finding the state website's stuff about pre-registration and mass vax sites a little hard to parse; can someone confirm for me that as a 37-year-old with one of the "underlying medical conditions" for phase 2B, I was OK to just directly make an appointment at Walgreens this morning?
The reasons I'm feeling a little unsure (besides being foggy due to insomnia) are:
-I know in some states pharmacies are only vaccinating certain populations, not just everyone who is eligible
-The pre-registration thing is confusing me a little (I think that's only for government mass vax sites but I'm not sure, and Walgreens's site asked if I had--but did not require--some kind of registration code when I made my appointment.)
-Maryland's site currently still says 2A on it right now even though all the news sources said yesterday that 2B will open on March 30.
I was awake at 5am this morning due to insomnia, figured I'd look at appointment availability, and happened to find an appointment for Thursday at a Walgreen's, which I booked. I only realized that I would qualify in phase 2B rather than the "everyone else" tier yesterday, so I'm not very familiar with Maryland's system and I'm finding the state website's stuff about pre-registration and mass vax sites a little hard to parse; can someone confirm for me that as a 37-year-old with one of the "underlying medical conditions" for phase 2B, I was OK to just directly make an appointment at Walgreens this morning?
The reasons I'm feeling a little unsure (besides being foggy due to insomnia) are:
-I know in some states pharmacies are only vaccinating certain populations, not just everyone who is eligible
-The pre-registration thing is confusing me a little (I think that's only for government mass vax sites but I'm not sure, and Walgreens's site asked if I had--but did not require--some kind of registration code when I made my appointment.)
-Maryland's site currently still says 2A on it right now even though all the news sources said yesterday that 2B will open on March 30.
When you made the appointment, did you have to state what qualified you for a vaccine? (I.e., did it ask you to tick a box that said whether you were a certain age or whether you had a comorbidity?)
If you filled out that form truthfully online, and it still let you through, I think you'll be okay. I made several attempts to find a vaccine site in NYC and each time it made me jump through that particular hoop before it even went LOOKING for an appointment.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:35 AM on March 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
If you filled out that form truthfully online, and it still let you through, I think you'll be okay. I made several attempts to find a vaccine site in NYC and each time it made me jump through that particular hoop before it even went LOOKING for an appointment.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:35 AM on March 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: I would like to gently re-direct any future respondents to the state-specific and Walgreens-specific nature of my question, which are the reason for my uncertainty.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:39 AM on March 30, 2021
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:39 AM on March 30, 2021
Response by poster: For example: in Delaware, pharmacies can only vaccinate people who are over 50; other people who qualify have to go through a different route. As far as I know, that is not the case in Maryland, but it does very much vary by state and venue.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:42 AM on March 30, 2021
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:42 AM on March 30, 2021
Yup, in MD today 2B is eligible. (Bottom sentence of the 2B section says so. Covid Link). A friend of mine in MD—a 30-something with diabetes and asthma—just got an appointment at Walgreens too.
posted by inevitability at 4:54 AM on March 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by inevitability at 4:54 AM on March 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
A friend lied on the form in my state because it hadn't been updated with new rules, got an appointment they & spouse were actually legit for. Pharmacy told them they did the right thing. In my state, some appointments are going empty, vax isn't lost, but time is essential. Go get the vax!
posted by theora55 at 5:03 AM on March 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 5:03 AM on March 30, 2021 [5 favorites]
I got my shot at a Walgreens (but not in Maryland) -- the code thing only applies to states that are actually issuing codes. My state is not issuing codes; it does not appear Maryland is issuing codes either, based on a little google. Here are some FAQs that may help you.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:05 AM on March 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:05 AM on March 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
Redirecting the redirect (I hear ya on that, though) - I also tried signing up via the Walgreens web site, and the pre-screening questions they asked me ruled me out because I did not at that time match the vaccination eligibility for pharmacies in my state. So if you were able to get past Walgreens' own prescreen, I'd say you're good.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:08 AM on March 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:08 AM on March 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
The Walgreens page says "Please note: state eligibility guidelines currently determine vaccine availability and eligibility," and Maryland is definitely in 2B, so I think you're fine!
In the meantime, you can pre-register for the Maryland Mass Vax sites just in case, and if you get your shot at Walgreens you can take yourself off the MD list when they text you to schedule an appointment or by calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX.
posted by amarynth at 6:54 AM on March 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
In the meantime, you can pre-register for the Maryland Mass Vax sites just in case, and if you get your shot at Walgreens you can take yourself off the MD list when they text you to schedule an appointment or by calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX.
posted by amarynth at 6:54 AM on March 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
If the site let you schedule the appointment, then you're good.
posted by augustimagination at 11:07 AM on March 30, 2021
posted by augustimagination at 11:07 AM on March 30, 2021
I am in the same boat, and the Maryland Vaccine Hunters facebook group has had multiple people confirm that for CVS/Walgreens, they will take you if you are eligible according to state guidelines even if the registration website has not updated to reflect changes in the eligible tiers. Someone mentioned that it took a couple of days for the CVS pharmacy registration process to update to correctly reflect the state general eligibility status.
The smaller county-run vaccine sites are kind of their own thing and my understanding is they have pretty limited supplies and are thus often only vaccinating a smaller pool than the state general eligible tiers.
posted by drlith at 11:36 AM on March 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
The smaller county-run vaccine sites are kind of their own thing and my understanding is they have pretty limited supplies and are thus often only vaccinating a smaller pool than the state general eligible tiers.
posted by drlith at 11:36 AM on March 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks all. I feel sufficiently certain about this now (and grateful that my early-waking insomnia finally paid off for once! I know I am really fortunate to have had success on my first try.) Ordinarily I enjoy figuring out the ins and outs of rules and processes but at 5am on 4 hours of sleep (and before even the official Maryland page had been updated to reflect phase 2B) I didn’t feel super confident in what I was doing/had done, and if for some reason I wasn’t supposed to have that appointment, I would have wanted to cancel it sooner rather than later to make sure someone else would get it.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:04 PM on March 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:04 PM on March 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
You landed an appointment! Congrats! Enjoy getting vaccinated and when you've gotten your first shot help other folks register for theirs!
posted by larthegreat at 4:33 AM on March 30, 2021 [2 favorites]