Did You Receive An Email From VAMS Regarding a COVID-19 Vaccine?

Have you received an email from an entity claiming to be the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) telling you schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination?

We all know there are a myriad coronavirus-related scams out there — be it electronic or over the phone — so is email contact from VAMS legitimate?

According to the United States Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), VAMS is a legitimate web-based application for vaccination clinic management.

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If you fall under a certain umbrella — whether you are part of a certain age group or have certain health complications — you may receive a piece of correspondence from the CDC and/or VAMS for vaccine registration. Of course, this depends on your place in line relative to your state's vaccine rollout.

Here is a coronavirus vaccine timeline for the Seacoast.

Still, you may be wondering why VAMS is reaching out and how they got your information. Some local hospitals have provided the names and emails of their patients who qualify for vaccinations to the CDC, which is how VAMS knows how to contact you.

For example, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover said it has provided state names of existing patients who qualify for vaccination and that those patients can expect to receive an email from VAMS to schedule a vaccine appointment.

Although VAMS is a legitimate arm of the CDC, it is still important to double check the authenticity of the sender. Always be sure to check the domain name of the sender to verify the correspondence is coming from a legitimate source. Health officials will never ask you to pay to join a vaccine waitlist, move up in line, or ship doses of the vaccine out to you.