The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) has launched an online portal for people to check their eligibility and make appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations at county health departments. The easy-to-navigate portal provides up-to-date information about drive-thru and walk-in clinics being offered. The portal can be accessed at https://www.alcovidvaccine.gov/.

By entering information in the portal, individuals can confirm their eligibility, select a county where they intend to schedule their vaccination and indicate if they want to receive an email when the vaccine becomes available. Information about the vaccine product itself and what to expect is provided.

There are links to a complete list of vaccine providers in the state and other information on the Alabama COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Dashboard. The portal has practical information for the people scheduled, such as what they should bring, mask requirements and a vaccine fact sheet.

The demand for vaccine continues to greatly exceed supply as Alabama has more than 326,000 health care workers and nearly 350,000 people who qualify for a vaccine because they are 75 years of age or older. On Feb. 8, the addition of people 65 or older and other frontline critical workers will add more than 1 million people who are eligible to receive a vaccine.

Sites listed in the portal have limited supply of vaccine. Current assessment of supply and expectations for shipments over the next month indicate that many public health clinics will have to focus on providing second doses in February. As appointments may not be available immediately, the limitation of appointments is directly related to the amount of vaccine provided by the federal government. If supply of vaccine products from the federal government increases, ADPH officials expect that access to appointments for priority groups will increase. If appointments are not available at a county health department, people are encouraged to visit drive-thru and walk-in clinics or other vaccine providers.

Alabama’s COVID-19 Vaccination Allocation Plan, which can be viewed on the portal, was developed by working with stakeholders and following guidance from the federal government. For general information, the COVID-19 Information Hotline is 1-800-270-7268.