How to register for the COVID-19 vaccine in San Antonio when appointments are available

The city of San Antonio is working to distribute thousands of doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, including Moderna and Pfizer, to eligible residents.

On April 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because of unusual clots that occurred in patients 6 to 13 days after vaccination. As a result, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is not being given at this time.

To ensure seniors get vaccinated, the city has also established a COVID-19 vaccine wait list for residents who are 65 and older. People can register online in English at sanantonio.gov/waitlist or in Spanish at sanantonio.gov/listadeespera. They can also call 311 and select option 8 or call 210-207-6000 for assistance. The hotline will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.

There are currently four public vaccine distribution sites in San Antonio: Metro Health’s clinic at the Alamodome, a Wellmed clinic at Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center on the South Side, a WellMed clinic at the Alicia Treviño López Senior Community Center on the West Side, and University Health’s clinic at the Wonderland of the Americas.

WellMed has opened online registration for both of its clinics. The link can also be found here.

While all adults are eligible to get vaccinated, vaccine providers have been instructed to prioritize older people and people with underlying health conditions that may put them at greater risk of severe illness.

READ MORE: 5 tips to get your COVID-19 vaccine appointment

What you need to know about the state’s weekly vaccine allocations:

Doses of the COVID-19 vaccines come from the federal government to the states to be distributed. Texas distributes its allotted vaccines to hospitals, pharmacies, local health departments, freestanding ERs and other clinics.

All providers who receive the vaccine are instructed to use them immediately and not keep any in reserve.

Eligible providers request doses from the state and then are notified about how many doses they will receive when Texas Health and Human Services releases a list of where shipments of COVID-19 vaccines will go each week. This list is for first doses only. All second doses are kept track of separately and anyone who gets a first dose will have a second dose reserved for them.

April 5, 2021, is the start of week 17 for the state’s vaccine allocation. The bulk of the first-dose vaccines headed to Bexar County will go to the state’s vaccine hub sites, which include:

• San Antonio Metropolitan Health District Main Immunizations Clinic - 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 12,870 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
• University Health System - 19,890 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for week 17.
• *UT Health San Antonio/Wellness 360 (Adult) - 7,020 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for week 17.

Many pharmacies are also receiving doses of the vaccine from the federal government through retail pharmacy program.

*While UT Health is considered a hub by the state, its allotment of vaccines is reserved for use within its vast healthcare system and administered through its physicians to Tier IB patients. Their vaccines are not distributed through a public registration system. You can read more about where UT Health’s vaccines go here.

What to know about the registration protocols at each of the city’s public COVID-19 vaccination sites:

Metro Health’s Alamodome Vaccine Site

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District will make 30,000 first-dose Pfizer vaccine appointments available starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25. Residents can register for an appointment on the Metro Health COVID-19 vaccine registration website. People without internet access can call the 311 Customer Service COVID Hotline from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on weekends. All appointments will be scheduled from April 6 to May 1 at the Alamodome, according to a news release.

• Walk-ins will not be accepted.
• If appointments are available at the Alamodome, you can register for the vaccine online. Online registration is preferred, but if you need assistance you can call 311 and select option 8. Residents have reported that it can be difficult to reach someone by phone.
• Anyone that lives in Bexar County or in one of the other 26 municipal districts are able to come to the Alamodome to receive their COVID-19 vaccine, according to city leaders.

WellMed clinics at Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center and Alicia Treviño López Senior Community Center

The WellMed sites receive their doses from the state as well as community partners including Metro Health and UT Health. WellMed will let the community know when they have available doses and will open registration at that time.

The phone number to get an appointment is 833-968-1745. Operators will take calls from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, until all slots are filled.

If the phone lines are overwhelmed, WellMed says you will hear one of two messages:

• On a cell phone: “The line you are trying to reach is out of service.”
• On a landline: “All circuits are busy. Please try your call later.”

If you are cut off after the recorded greeting, officials say this also means all operators are on calls. If the call doesn’t go through at all, it may be an issue with your phone service provider, according to WellMed.

University Health’s clinic at Wonderland of the Americas

• This vaccine site is managed by University Health System.
• Slots are currently filled several weeks in advance but you can register online to be notified when new appointments are available.
• People who register are asked to check the website on the Friday before they’re scheduled to receive the vaccine to make sure University Health has the doses they were expecting from the state. If everything is good to go, there will be a message of “all appointments are confirmed.”

University Health has created a separate online registration process for people age 80 and older who want to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The registry was created to help this priority population get vaccines as the state expands eligibility to all adults starting March 29. The site will go live on Thursday.

The registry will allow people age 80 and older to enter their information online. They will be contacted by someone from University Health by phone when an appointment is available.

Photo identification with a date of birth will be required at the vaccination site.

Other places you may be able to find COVID-19 vaccines:

The four main COVID-19 vaccination sites aren’t the only places offering the vaccine in San Antonio, however, they are getting the bulk of the vaccinations right now. You may be able to find the vaccine through your primary care physician or other healthcare providers. You can call your providers to see if they have any available.

CVS Health began administering COVID-19 vaccines at pharmacies across Texas on Feb. 12.

Appointments will be available to book online at CVS.com or through the CVS app. People without online access can call the customer service line at 800-746-7287 to schedule an appointment beginning on that date. Walk-in appointments will not be provided.

The Walmart located at 5555 De Zavala Road will be one of several locations across the nation that will begin to vaccinate residents through the U.S. Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Those who are eligible to receive the vaccine can schedule an appointment via the Walmart and Sam’s Club websites once appointments are available, according to the news release.

H-E-B has launched an online registration portal and adds appointments as new doses become available.

“Once supply becomes more readily available, we are prepared to help vaccinate our communities on a broad scale,” H-E-B spokesperson Dya Campos told KSAT in early January.

In the initial phase of the vaccine rollout, it’s been common for some amounts to be thrown away because they either expired or weren’t stored correctly.

That has led to the creation of a “vaccine hunter” website to help people get their hands on doses before they are ruined. The site uses corwdsourcing and social media to share information about vaccines that are unused and about to expire.

You may also be able to check vaccine availability through the state’s COVID-19 availability map:

Read more on our vaccine page and watch the Jan. 27 primetime special below.

• City of San Antonio to convert Alamodome into mass, no-cost COVID-19 vaccination site
• Your questions answered: COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Texas
• What if I get COVID-19 before getting the 1st or 2nd dose of the vaccine?
• Had the 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine in San Antonio? Here’s how to get the 2nd dose.
• Where to get tested for COVID-19 in San Antonio, Bexar County