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What is Book My Vaccine?
Book My Vaccine is a booking tool that connects consumers and vaccine providers together. Consumers can view locations and select an appointment time that works for them, while providers use the system to manage appointment schedules and availability.
Book My Vaccine has been successfully used since 2021 to support the nationwide rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme. From 1 April 2023, Book My Vaccine was expanded to support the influenza campaign. From mid-June 2023, Book My Vaccine will be expanded to enable adult (13 years and older) bookings for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); and tetanus, diptheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccinations. Book My Vaccine will also offer pregnant people the option to book the vaccines recommended during pregnancy in one appointment (e.g. influenza and Tdap).
Book My Vaccine will continue to be promoted as part of relevant national campaign activity, potentially featuring in assets that appear on TV, radio, print and digital channels. In the future Book My Vaccine may be expanded with additional vaccination types.
What providers should use Book My Vaccine?
If you are a provider that delivers influenza, MMR, Tdap (Boostrix) and/or COVID-19 vaccinations, you can use Book My Vaccine.
If you deliver publicly funded vaccinations to casual or unenrolled consumers, you should use Book My Vaccine.
You can also choose to use Book My Vaccine:
- if you also deliver privately funded vaccinations, alongside publicly funded vaccines
- to support you to deliver vaccinations to enrolled consumers
- to complement your existing electronic booking system.
If you offer only COVID-19 vaccinations to casual or unenrolled consumers, you should continue to use Book My Vaccine. If you choose to also deliver funded influenza, MMR, Tdap (Boostrix) as well as COVID-19 vaccinations to casual or unenrolled consumers, you should use Book My Vaccine.
Examples of providers to whom this may apply include pharmacies, community health providers and general practices.
How to sign up as a new Book My Vaccine user?
If you are a vaccine provider and would like to start using Book My Vaccine, please complete a new site and user set up form, select the vaccines that you would like to offer and return to help@imms.min.health.nz. Alternatively, request this form by emailing help@imms.min.health.nz.
Once you have completed the form, please email it to help@imms.min.health.nz. It takes at least 3 working days for your site and users to be set up.
How to sign up to Book My Vaccine to offer MMR and/or Tdap (Boostrix) if you are an existing user?
If you are an existing user of Book My Vaccine, and would like to offer MMR and/or Tdap (Boostrix) appointments, please complete the new vaccine form and return to help@imms.min.health.nz.
If you are an existing Book My Vaccine user and would like support to add influenza or make changes to your influenza and/or COVID-19 appointments, please contact help@imms.min.health.nz.
Can I get ‘listed’ on Book My Vaccine?
A listing on Book My Vaccine is for vaccination providers to display vaccination options to consumers without consumers completing a ‘live’ booking using the Book My Vaccine website. A listing allows you to show consumers how they can engage with you to receive vaccinations and includes a link to a website for further information. This link could be to your own booking system, a website with details about your walk-in clinics, vaccination events or other vaccination opportunities.
Listings are available to providers who offer vaccines available through Book My Vaccine (COVID-19, influenza, MMR and Boostrix).
To ensure a positive consumer experience a listing must include:
- Your site name and address
- The vaccinations you offer
- A link for consumers to find out more information or to access your local booking system.
- Who you offer vaccination services to
- When vaccinations services are available
- How consumers can access vaccination services
If you are a new Book My Vaccine user, and would like to request a listing, please complete a site listing form and return to help@imms.min.health.nz.
If you are an existing user of Book My Vaccine who would prefer to change your set up to be a listing or be included as a listing for MMR and Tdap (Boostrix), please complete a site listing form and return to help@imms.min.health.nz.
It may take up to 3 working days for your listing to be set up. Changes to your listing can be requested by emailing help@imms.min.health.nz.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who do I contact for support or to ask a question?
Our Help Desk is available to answer questions and provide support. Please email help@imms.min.health.nz or call the team on 0800 223 987. These channels are currently monitored:
- 8am - 5pm, Monday to Friday (from 9.30am on Wednesdays)
- 9am - 2pm, Saturday
If you are contacting via email (recommended), please provide a detailed description of the issue, your full name and your mobile number so we can contact you with a resolution.
If you have questions and would like technical support, please ask the Help Desk to send you a link to the drop-in sessions. These are available between 1pm and 1.45pm each weekday.
Please note that this Help Desk is for providers only and should not be used for consumer enquiries.
What do I need to know about roles and responsibilities?
There are two main roles that you need to be familiar with when using Book My Vaccine – a site administrator and a concierge. Both have an important role to play so you’ll need to be familiar with what they do and how to use them. Here is a brief description of the key roles and responsibilities.
Site administrator
Role
- The site administrator manages the day-to-day operation of Book My Vaccine at their site(s) and is the primary point of contact for the site(s) for consumers, Whakarongorau and Te Whatu Ora
- A site administrator can manage one site, multiple sites or sites that are part of a group
- There can be more than one site administrator at each site.
Responsibilities
- Set up, approve, and maintain appointment schedules for all vaccine types (currently COVID-19 and/or influenza)
- Manage schedule changes due to public holidays, staff not being available, unexpected closures etc.
- Contact consumers impacted by schedule changes to reschedule or cancel their bookings
- Manage consumers and their requirements. This includes contacting those that require disability and impairment assistance prior to their appointment and ensuring that their needs can be met, confirming group bookings and on-site check in procedures
- Maintain up-to-date site details, including disability and impairment assistance, site name, address, phone numbers, opening hours, and other relevant information
- Approve users who require access to your site(s)
- Understand the role of Book My Vaccine and the relationship with immunisation registers (e.g Book My Vaccine appointments are not visible in the Aotearoa Immunisation Register)
- Contact the Te Whatu Ora Help Desk for support on 0800 223 987 or help@imms.min.health.nz.
Concierge
Role
- The concierge supports the site administrator to manage consumer bookings and appointment schedules
- There can be more than one concierge at each site.
Responsibilities
- Manage consumer bookings on the day, as well as advance planning for bookings in the next 48 hours
- Contact consumers who request disability and impairment assistance prior to their appointment and ensure their needs can be met
- Contact group booking arrangers to confirm the requirements can be met
- Assist the site admin to contact consumers impacted by schedule changes and support them to reschedule or cancel their booking
- Manage on-site check in procedures for consumers.
Where do I find training resources?
We have developed a range of resources to support you and your team to use Book My Vaccine.
If you are a new Book My Vaccine user, you will receive the training resources from the Help Desk once your new site and user(s) have been set up.
If you are an existing Book My Vaccine user, you can email help@imms.min.health.nz to request the training resources from the Help Desk.
Can I manage my schedule to exclude public holidays or specific dates?
Once you have set up your appointment schedule(s) you can then manually override dates when your clinic will be closed or will not have appointments available. For example, if your pharmacy is closed on public holidays.
The override functionality is included in the training resources, and you can also email help@imms.min.health.nz to request support from the Help Desk.
What do I need to do before I make my site visible to consumers?
Once your new site and user(s) have been set up by the Help Desk you will receive an email confirmation. Each user (whether a site administrator or concierge) will need to complete the relevant training. If you are the site administrator, you will need to set up and review your appointment schedule and the number of appointments available.
You should ensure that you have completed the site set up checklist before making your site visible to consumers.
Checklist for site administrators
- Complete appropriate training and contact the Help Desk if you have any questions
- Confirm site details including location tags and address
- Confirm available vaccine types
- Set and check appointment schedules (days, times and appointment length)
- Confirm your ability to exclude specific dates using ‘overrides’
- Confirm you understand the impact of making schedule changes
- Confirm your process to contact consumers if they are impacted by a schedule change, including how to cancel or reschedule bookings on behalf of consumers
- Confirm system access for required staff
- Confirm your ability to view individual and group booking details
- Confirm your ability to view consumer details, including disability and impairment requirements
- Change site status to ‘active’ to ensure that consumers can see and make bookings
- Once you have received bookings you will need to log in to view bookings daily
Checklist for concierges
- Complete appropriate training and contact the Help Desk if you have any questions
- Confirm your ability to view individual and group booking details
- Confirm your ability to view consumer details, including disability and impairment requirements
- Confirm your ability to support the process to contact consumers impacted by schedule changes, including how to cancel or reschedule bookings on behalf of consumers
- Confirm your ability to check-in consumers
- Once your site is live you will need to log in to view bookings daily
What happens if I need to change a schedule?
Care should be taken with changing a future appointment schedule or the number of appointments available as this process will not cancel or reschedule any existing bookings. This means that impacted consumers will need to be contacted and supported to reschedule. Alternatively, once the consumer has been contacted you can reschedule or cancel appointments on behalf of the consumer.
Overrides are the recommended method to change your schedule for an unexpected closure. For example, when a vaccinator calls in sick.
The training materials outline how to update your schedule or apply an override. You can also email help@imms.min.health.nz to request support from the Help Desk.
Will flu, MMR and Tdap (Boostrix) bookings work in the same way as COVID-19 bookings?
There are some important changes in where you can see booking information.
You must view all booking details on the Book My Vaccine dashboard when you log in to the administration system. This information is available for all appointments MMR, Tdap (Boostrix), influenza, COVID-19, and combined (influenza and COVID-19). The contact details entered by each consumer are also visible. You will need to log in daily to view today’s appointments. Details are also available for tomorrow’s appointments and appointments in the next 7 days.
COVID-19 only bookings will continue to be visible on the today’s bookings section of the COVID-19 Immunisation Register (CIR). An immunisation case will continue to be created for the consumer in CIR.
Influenza and combined influenza and COVID-19 booking will not be visible in CIR and an immunisation case will not be created.
No bookings will be visible, or create an immunisation case, in the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR). You must log in to Book My Vaccine to view your bookings.
Is there a change in the support that was provided by each District for Book My Vaccine during COVID-19?
Districts remain responsible for approving sites and users that offer COVID-19 vaccination appointments. This applies to new sites, the reactivation of sites and related users of sites offering COVID-19 vaccination bookings.
Districts are not responsible for approving sites and users that offer influenza, MMR and/or Tdap (Boostrix) vaccination appointments. Approval for sites and users offering these vaccinations can be requested by emailing help@imms.min.health.nz or calling 0800 223 987.
Providers are responsible for managing their appointment schedules and any consumer impacts if this schedule changes. Providers can contact the Help Desk for support on 0800 223 987 or help@imms.min.health.nz.