Duplicate Vaccine Appointments
Given the high demand for COVID-19 vaccines, the Burlington County COVID-19 Vaccine Mega-Center cannot hold multiple appointments for the same individual. In the event that someone has more than one appointment attached to his or her name/personal information, the appointment that comes earliest on the calendar will remain, and all others will be cancelled to create availability for others.
Below are some common reasons why one person may have duplicate appointments.
“I didn’t know for sure if my appointment went through, so I kept trying.”
If you inadvertently created multiple appointments, the earliest appointment will remain in the schedule. All others will be cancelled and reassigned to someone new.
“I made more than one appointment because it is a two-dose vaccine.”
You only need to schedule one vaccine appointment in advance. The date of your second-dose appointment will depend upon which version of the vaccine you receive at the first appointment. (For instance, the Pfizer vaccine is administered 21 days apart; the Moderna vaccine is administered 28 days apart.) When you attend your first appointment, the onsite staff will assist you in scheduling/confirming the date and time of your second visit. Unless the federal or state policy changes, everyone who receives a first-dose appointment is guaranteed a second-dose appointment.
“I created multiple appointments because I do not know my schedule for the days/weeks ahead and I wanted to have options.”
Given the high demand for vaccines across the state and beyond, Virtua cannot reserve multiple appointment times for the same individual. We will maintain the earliest appointment you scheduled and cancel the others.
“I have more than one appointment because I was scheduling on behalf of family and friends.”
To schedule on behalf of another person, you must enter that person’s personal information into the form and not your own. For instance, a wife could schedule an appointment for her husband, but she must enter his information. Unlike a restaurant reservation or concert ticket purchase, vaccination appointments are non-transferrable and must be assigned to the intended person.
If you used your own personal information when scheduling for others, all but the earliest appointment in your name will be cancelled. You will need to schedule new appointments for those individuals; please be sure to enter their information and not your own.
The good news is that we anticipate vaccine availability will grow considerably in the weeks ahead and that we will add hundreds of new appointments to the scheduling platform in the weeks and months ahead. We recognize the process of scheduling vaccines is new, and that confusion may arise. We apologize for any frustrations you may have encountered. Please know that as vaccine supplies increase, so too will the mega-site’s ability to offer vaccine appointments. We are committed to vaccinating as many people are possible in the weeks and months ahead.