COVID-19: General Guidance for Vaccinators

DHS recommends that everyone 6 months and older stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Visit CDC’s Stay Up to Date with Vaccines page for current recommendations.

Wisconsin Immunization Registry verification

Vaccinators are encouraged to check the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) before administering a vaccine to verify that individuals are receiving the correct vaccine based on the specific vaccination schedule for their age group and/or medical history.

Resources

• CDC Interim Clinical Considerations
• FDA 2023-2024 authorized and approved COVID-19 vaccine information pages
  • Moderna vaccine authorized for individuals 6 months through 11 years of age
  • SpikeVax (Moderna) vaccine approved for individuals 12 years of age and older
  • Pfizer vaccine authorized for individuals 6 months through 11 years of age
  • Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine approved for individuals 12 years of age and older
  • Novavax COVID-19 vaccine fact sheets

Observation period

Individuals receiving any vaccine, including COVID-19, need to be monitored for allergic reactions for 15-30 minutes after vaccination. Non-reactions to previous vaccinations are not a guarantee that a reaction will not occur. When administering doses, please make sure people wait before they leave your site.

COVID-19, influenza, and other vaccines may be administered without regard to timing. This includes simultaneous administration of COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines on the same day, as well as co-administration within 14 days.

Giving all vaccines for which an individual is eligible at the same visit is considered a best practice as it increases the probability that individual will be up to date on recommended vaccines. It also is an important part of immunization practice, especially if a health care provider is uncertain that a patient will return for additional doses of vaccine.

Please reference CDC's clinical considerations for more details. CDC's short, recorded webinar on Administering More Than One Vaccine on the Same Day reviews the clinical considerations, best practices and clinical resources for simultaneous administration.

You can also print out Immunize.org's job aid, How to Administer Multiple Intramuscular Vaccines to Adults During One Visit.

Vaccinators need to ensure that emergency equipment is available regardless of the vaccine being administered. This includes epinephrine auto-injectors or epinephrine. If an ampule of epinephrine and needle/syringe is to be used, it is important that the provider be proficient in drawing up and administering the proper dosage.

ACIP General Best Practice Guidelines read, “Epinephrine and equipment for managing an airway should be available for immediate use.”

According to the CDC, state laws establish vaccination requirements for school-aged children. In Wisconsin, the age of majority is 18 years of age, unless emancipated. Therefore, all unemancipated individuals under 18 years of age require parent or guardian consent to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

In Wisconsin, vaccinators can accept written or verbal (such as via telephone) consent to administer the COVID-19 vaccine from a minor’s legal parent or guardian who cannot be present at the time of vaccination. Vaccinators are not required to accept written or verbal consent but are permitted to accept these forms of consent should they choose to do so.

DHS does not have a sample written consent form for vaccinators to use. Vaccinators are encouraged to work with their own legal counsel regarding methods of consent for vaccinating minors in their clinic.

People who are pregnant or recently pregnant should take steps to protect themselves from getting sick with COVID-19. 

COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future.

If you are pregnant and have questions about getting a vaccination, find more information by visiting Pregnant and Recently Pregnant People.

Increased cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been reported in the United States after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, particularly in adolescents and young adults.

CDC continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older, given the risk of COVID-19 illness and related, possibly severe complications, such as long-term health problems, hospitalization, and even death.

Vaccination is important because the risk of myocarditis or pericarditis associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection is greater than the risk of myocarditis or pericarditis occurring after receipt of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents and adults. However, people who develop myocarditis or pericarditis after a dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine generally should not receive a subsequent dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. For more information see COVID-19 vaccination and myocarditis and pericarditis.

Health care providers should consider myocarditis in an evaluation of chest pain after vaccination and report all cases to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) in a timely manner.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national vaccine safety surveillance program that has been used to detect possible safety issues with vaccines for many decades. Anyone can, but medical providers must, report adverse events (possible side effects or health problems) that occur after vaccination using VAERS.

Health care personnel or health departments in the U.S. can request a consultation from the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) COVIDVax project for a complex COVID-19 vaccine safety question about an individual patient residing in the U.S. not readily addressed by CDC guidance.

Request a consultation from CISA by:

For more information about vaccine safety, review What Every Clinician Should Know about COVID-19 Vaccine Safety. You can also read more about current data on adverse events, local and system reactions to Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines.

Email us at DHSImmProgram@dhs.wisconsin.gov if you have more questions about vaccine safety or reporting adverse events.