Mass Vaccination Clinic Guidance and Resources

The ACHA COVID-19 task force has gathered resources to assist members in planning for mass vaccination clinics. While currently the focus is on planning the administration of COVID-19 vaccine to large numbers of students and other members of the campus community, these resources and principles may be applied to the administration of any vaccine in a large-scale event. Guidance for supply, delivery, storage, and administration of the anticipated COVID-19 vaccine will come from the federal government and state, territorial, tribal, and local health departments and therefore will not be addressed in any specific way in this document. 

In the current situation, it is critical that colleges and universities reach out to the appropriate public health authority so as to be included in the planning and distribution of the vaccine for students and other campus community members. College and university health services will then provide direction to and coordination with their campus partners in setting up systems to manage the details of the immunization plan.

Although specific guidance will be forthcoming from governmental agencies, college health professionals have an important role in encouraging high uptake of vaccines in the campus community.

COVID-19 vaccine mass vaccination events will require additional planning including:


  • Management of vaccine handling and cold storage requirements.
  • Attention to the event site layout and flow patterns for efficient and safe events, as well as a registration process for the event.
  • Plans for physical distancing of staff and patients in order to minimize COVID-19 transmission.
  • Security for vaccines and supplies.
  • Consideration for providing appropriate PPE for staff, masking requirements for patient participants, and easy access to hand sanitizer/hand hygiene.
  • Strengthening of community partnerships (e.g., with local pharmacies and hospitals).
  • Addressing the needs of vulnerable and special needs populations; this should include students with a history of severe allergic reactions.
  • Management of records, including connecting to state registries, sending reminders for additional doses as needed, and tracking of student immunization status.

Essential elements of large-scale vaccine administration events include staff training, patient and staff safety, patient education and communication, vaccine storage and handling, assessment, screening for contraindications, informed consent (providing patients with the CDC Vaccine Information Statement [VIS]*), adverse reaction reporting (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System [VAERS]), vaccine preparation and administration, documentation, and follow up vaccine strategies.

*The COVID-19 vaccines do not have Vaccine Information Statements (VIS) available at this time.

Resource List

Checklist of Best Practices for Vaccination Clinics Held at Satellite, Temporary, or Off-Site Location

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Vaccine development and distribution has become the overarching platform for action since the beginning of the pandemic. This checklist speaks to the distribution, plan, process and expected outcomes. The list is a step-by-step approach for vaccine shipment, preparation, and administration, according to CDC practices. The checklist should be used in non-traditional clinic settings including mass events, workplaces, community centers, schools, and walk and drive through clinics during pandemics. A designated clinic coordinator must be responsible to complete, sign, and date the checklist each time the clinic is held.

Keywords: Vaccine Clinic Preparation/Supervision
Date added: 12/21/2020

Mass Vaccination Clinics: Challenges and Best Practices (Webinar)

Source: Immunization Action Coalition

This archived webinar is a great place to start if you are currently conducting or planning to conduct mass vaccination clinics. In this Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) sponsored session, a panel of experienced providers describes successes and challenges in conducting mass vaccination clinics. The panelists highlight best practices and offer practical information for conducting a successful mass vaccination clinic. Three presenters are from the college health field.

Keywords: Administrative Tools, Mass Vaccination Strategy
Date added: 12/21/2020

The COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Operational Guidance for Jurisdictions Playbook, version 2.0

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This document addresses current distribution plans and serves as an interim playbook for state, territorial (including the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands [USAPI] of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau), tribal, and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19 within their jurisdictions. The document’s sections cover specific areas of COVID-19 vaccination program planning and implementation and provide key guidance documents and links to resources to assist those efforts. Many, but not all, of the COVID-19 Vaccination Program activities described may overlap with routine activities; routine immunization and pandemic influenza program activities can serve as a foundation for COVID-19 vaccination planning. Executive summaries of each jurisdiction’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan are also available.

Keywords: Administrative Tools, Vaccine Planning, Vaccine Implementation
Date added: 12/21/2020

Resources for Starting Up Mass Vaccination Services

Source: Immunization Action Coalition

Mass vaccination clinics involve the administration of vaccine(s) to a large number of people over a relatively short period of time, allowing providers to rapidly and efficiently immunize communities. Due to the unique nature of mass vaccination clinics, they frequently are held in non-traditional or temporary settings, such as in parking lots or large indoor spaces. Patient flow may be managed through a variety of venues, such as walk-through, drive-through, and curbside clinics, or by using mobile medical units. This resource from the Immunization Action Coalition offers access to guidance documents, toolkits, and other helpful resources, produced over a span of many years, and to information that can be adapted to meet the needs of your mass vaccination program and planned clinic locations. Please keep in mind that many of the guidance documents listed below were created in the past and will need to be modified to ensure additional protections are implemented (e.g., social distancing and wearing protective equipment such as masks, face shields, goggles, and gloves, where appropriate) to safeguard staff and patients from COVID-19.

Keywords: Database, Detailed Guides, Staff Training
Date added: 12/21/2020 

Pink Book Series of Training Webinars

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC’s Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 13th Edition, a.k.a. the “Pink Book,” provides physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and others with the most comprehensive information on routinely used vaccines and the diseases they prevent. As a companion to the Pink Book, CDC offers a series of weekly one-hour web-on-demand videos that provide an overview of vaccination principles, general best practices, immunization strategies, and specific information about vaccine-preventable diseases and the vaccines that prevent them. Each video will include updated information from recent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meetings and votes. Important webinar training for 2020 focuses on preparation for COVID-19 vaccination. The webinars offer CE for health professionals and are an excellent training tool in preparing to provide COVID-19 vaccine. Important webinars for review by college health staff include:

Keywords: Disease Prevention, Vaccine Strategies
Date added: 12/21/2020

ASHP Principles for Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution, Allocation, and Mass Immunization

Source: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

This article is an organizational position paper. It outlines 10 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) guiding principles for COVID-19 vaccine development, distribution, allocation, mass vaccination, monitoring, and surveillance. It is intended to provide a framework for public policy makers as well as pharmaceutical supply chain representatives as they make critical decisions regarding vaccine development, distribution, allocation, and oversight.

Keywords: Administrative Guidelines, Vaccine Distribution
Date added: 12/21/2020

Emergency Preparedness in the Workplace: The Flulapalooza Model for Mass Vaccination

Source: American Journal of Public Health/Vanderbilt University Medical Center

This study describes how Vanderbilt University Medical Center used the Hospital Incident Command System to conduct one-day annual mass influenza vaccinations over five successive years (2011-2015). Over 13,000 vaccines were administered per event on average for a total of 66,591 vaccines. Continuous improvements in physical layout, staffing mix, and documentation processes improved vaccination efficiency and staffing requirements.

Keywords: Clinic Planning, Staff Training, Vaccine Clinic Protocol
Date added: 12/21/2020 

Emergency Mass Vaccination Training and Resource List

Source: The Arizona Partnership for Immunization (TAPI)

This mass vaccination training document gives a brief overview of how to set up and execute a mass vaccination clinic. The resource list provides additional links to assist in setting up remote clinics.

Keywords: Staff Training, Vaccine Clinic Protocol
Date added: 12/21/2020

Safety of Mass Immunization Campaigns

Source: World Health Organization

The World Health Organization offers a two-page document and checklist to guide the safe administration of large numbers of vaccines during a short vaccine event timeline. Two concerns are addressed, including safe injection practices and reporting adverse events. 

Keywords: Campaign Logistics, Checklist, Safety Procedures
Date added: 12/21/2020

Immunization Recommendations for College Students

Source: American College Health Association

This guidelines document emphasizes the critical role of vaccines in assuring the health and safety of college campuses, advocates for an institutional policy, and identifies age-appropriate vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that students should receive. Based on CDC guidance, schedules, indications and contraindications are identified for each vaccine. See also the ACHA Guidelines: Preparing of COVID-19.

Keywords: Vaccination Guidelines/Protocol
Date added: 12/21/2020