COVID Vaccination Clinic (HP448)
Overview/Purpose
This protocol allows users to quickly record COVID vaccinations in eligible patients during a mass vaccination clinic.
Resource Type
Base | Optional | Localised |
✔ |
Product
This tool is part of the PCIT toolset product
What does it do?
This protocol is available for users to launch manually
during a mass vaccination clinic to quickly record the relevant information
relating to the COVID vaccine, such as batch number, expiry date and GMS flag.
- Select patient
- Launch protocol via F12
- There are a number of aspects this protocol checks for (in the background) prior to you seeing a message:
- Whether the vaccine has already been administered
- Eligibility criteria
- Allergies or contraindications
- A popup offering one or more batch numbers will appear
- The user will select an option, then choose whether the vaccine is being administered to the left or right ar
Individual users will need to add HP448 to their F12 pick lists
Why is it important?
This protocol will help team members quickly and efficiently
identify if a patient is eligible for their COVID vaccination. This is important
because it saves time within general practice, as well as ensuring accuracy. It will then ensure consistency of coding during a busy vaccination clinic to reduce the risk of vaccinations not being coded correctly for inclusion in payment claims or missing important clinical information such as batch numbers in case of a vaccine recall.
What does it look like?
Once the protocol has been activated from the F12 pick list it will check for eligibility. If the patient is eligible and has not already been vaccinated this season a box will appear offering the choice of vaccines appropriate for the patient's age group. It will then prompt for left or right arm and offer a choice of batch numbers.
The protocol will need to be configured at practice level to reflect the vaccine in stock. It is important to keep this up to date as new stock is received to ensure the correct options are available and reduce the risk of incorrect information being added to patient notes.
New vaccination information fields
In April 2026, Optum rolled out an EMIS web update which introduced several new extended information fields to accompany the COVID vaccination programme. PCIT has not been able to add these fields to the current version of HP448 as the rollout has not yet been completed by Optum which means that the protocol would then fail to work for any practices not yet on that version of EMIS web.
The new fields are:
ODS code
COVID-19 (vaccine given)
Eligibility
Location
A new version of HP448 will be deployed with the extended information fields once all practices are confirmed on v9.32 of EMIS web.
Optum have also activated their Product Code Protocol on the covid vaccination codes.
This means that EMIS will prompt users to add a prescription for the vaccine given once the code has been added. Optum have advised that this protocol is required by NHS England but there is no information at this time about how the data is being used or what issues may be cause if the practice does not enter this information. Unfortunately, as this is a personally administered item, this also includes fields for batch number and expiry date which is not auto-filled from the protocol.
Any issues caused by the Optum protocol should be reported to the Optum support desk.
Configuring batch numbers
The base version of the protocol contains nodes to cover the different COVID vaccines in use this season (Spikevax, Nuvaxovid, Comirnaty). Each vaccine launches a separate protocol which should simplify the process for updating batch numbers.
There should be no reason to modify HP448, unless the practice wants to remove a specific type of vaccine not being used by the practice this season. Caution must be exercised if this is to be attempted as the lines flowing from the Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) box may not update, so the lines must be redrawn.
There are 5 'sub-protocols' which contain the batch data:
When editing the protocols, use the overview in the upper right corner to move around or zoom in/out.
The vaccine specific sub-protocols are laid out in a similar way. The vaccines will check for ages and then prompt for the appropriate vaccine based on the Green Book recommendations for Spring 2026. Take care to ensure that batch number and expiry information is only added into the relevant protocol.
Each Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) repeats the name of the vaccine to reinforce the original selection. If a user realises they have selected the wrong option, they should press Esc and start again from F12.
To add the batch information
1. Open the first Multiple Choice Question (double click the box)
2. Select the top 'ADD here' and press Edit.
3. Type in the batch number you want to add and press Enter
4. If you have multiple batch numbers you can choose to edit the other options. Or some practices choose to change these to say 'not in use' or delete them. Given the way that the COVID vaccine is being distributed we would recommend just changing it to 'not in use' as you may get different batches later in the season.
5. Press OK to close the MCQ box
6. Follow the first options across, through the 'which arm' MCQ to the 'Add Coded Data' node. Double click the node to edit it.
IMPORTANT - make sure to add the batch details to both left and right arm options
7. Add the Batch Number in the appropriate box. DO NOT change the GMS, Injection Site or default date settings.
8. Click on Add Qualifier and add Expiry Date as a field then enter the Expiry Date of your batch.
It is possible to add just a month and year by typing mm/yy and then tab for it to change (eg 12/23 will change to December-2023)
9. Press OK to save
10. Repeat steps 5-9 on the second node (so that you have the same options linked to both left and right arm)
11. If more than one batch number is in use at the same time, follow the lines from the second choice in the MCQ to the next pair of Add Coded Data nodes
12. Double click the 'Add a Drug' node on the right hand side of the protocol to edit
13. Select an authorising clinician, then press Update
14. Click Save and Close to save the protocol changes
15. Activate the protocol
Using the 'Add a Drug' node will reduce delays caused by the Product Code Prompt protocol that has been activated by Optum. The Optum protocol looks for an issue of an appropriate vaccine in the last 3 months so adding the drug in this protocol should mean that the Optum protocol is not triggered.
How to get it
This is an optional Handy Protocol, and as such you can request it via submitting a ticket on our website.
Unlike most other optional Handy Protocols which are shared via resource publishing, HP424 must be installed into your local instance of EMIS. Please ensure that Primary Care IT technical support have the correct RBAC (B1700) with their login to allow access to Resource Publisher. The protocols are installed in order, then linked together. The practice is responsible for editing the protocols to configure batch numbers and expiry dates.
Related Articles
Flu vaccination clinic (HP248)
Flu vaccination clinic (HP248) Overview/Purpose Primary Care IT has updated a single flu administration protocol for the 2025/26 seasonal influenza season (HP248). Our protocol has been built as a one-stop resource to manage flu administration for ...RSV vaccination clinic (HP338)
RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccination clinic (HP338) Overview/Purpose This protocol allows users to quickly record RSV vaccinations in older adults (those aged 75 to 79) during a mass vaccination clinic. Resource type: Base Optional Localised ...COVID-19 Vaccination
? COVID-19 Vaccination This shared component enables structured documentation of COVID-19 vaccination status. It supports accurate clinical records and alignment with national vaccination guidance for patients with long-term conditions. ? When Will ...Vaccination Handling (Flu and COVID)
? Vaccination Handling (Flu and COVID) This shared component allows documentation of influenza and COVID-19 vaccination status, alerts for overdue vaccines, and confirmation of recent doses. ? When Will I See This? This section appears: If a ...005 COVID vaccination programme: Overview
The current version of COVID vaccination programme searches is v11.0 Introduction and installation Primary Care IT released a refreshed suite of searches to support the COVID vaccination programme in Spring 2026. The original 005 COVID vaccination ...