As Virginia has moved into the second phase of COVID-19 vaccines, people are able to simply schedule their own appointments instead of answering various questions and providing personal information.
A pre-registration process was needed for the first four months of the rollout to verify that people signing up for shots were eligible, according to health officials. The first phase was designed to give vaccines to the most vulnerable, such as nursing home residents and elderly adults, those age 16 to 64 with qualifying health issues, and those most at risk, such as frontline essential workers who’ve dealt with the public throughout the pandemic.
Now that anyone age 16 and over who wants to be vaccinated is eligible across Virginia, state and health officials are sending out a single message as stressed by Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday.
“If you’re an adult, you should get a shot,” he said during a tour of a mass vaccination clinic in Tysons Corner. “If you’re older, you should get a shot. If you’re in your 20s and 30s, you could get COVID, too. You should get a shot.”
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Residents can schedule appointments by visiting the state website, vaccinate.virginia.gov, or by going directly to vaccinefinder.org. Both lead to the same place, the online tool called VaccineFinder operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
VaccineFinder lets users search for vaccine opportunities within 1 to 50 miles of their ZIP code and pick the time and place they want to roll up their sleeves. It lists pharmacies, groceries and hospitals that are available and let users search for the preferred vaccine.
On Monday afternoon, some sites showed they were out of stock entirely; others had limited appointments, and still others, like Mary Washington Healthcare, had slots open from Wednesday to the following Tuesday.
Mary Washington Healthcare’s website is marywashingtonhealthcare.com.
Even though the emphasis has switched to the second phase, those who were eligible in earlier groups but didn’t get vaccinated can jump in at any time, said Mary Chamberlin, public relations specialist with the Rappahannock Area Health District. It includes Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford.
“We really want everyone in phase 1 to get scheduled and not have to worry about registering/finding a source via vaccinfinder.org,” Chamberlin said. “We do still keep getting essential workers reaching out to be scheduled.”
Those in phase 1, including adults over 65, those 16 to 64 with underlying health issues and various categories of essential workers, can contact the health district’s call center on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to schedule appointments. The number is 540/899-4797; press 0.
In the Three Rivers Health District, which includes Westmoreland County and other localities in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, workers will continue to call or email anyone in the first phase who pre-registered until everyone has appointments, said Lisa Laurier, population health manager.
“We expect to complete our callback effort by early this week,” she said.
Those who have signed up for appointments but have not gotten them in the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District, which includes Culpeper, Fauquier and Orange counties, can contact the health district at 540/316-6302 or askrrhd@vdh.virginia.gov for help.
Northam estimated that at least 3 million more Virginians are eligible to be vaccinated as part of phase 2.
“While demand still outstrips supply, our supply is much larger than it used to be,” he said.
The state will continue to get about 500,000 doses a week of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, said Dr. Danny Avula, state vaccination coordinator. If the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is lifted after an advisory committee meets on Friday, he expects Virginia to get another 100,000 doses of that vaccine.
The J&J shot was put on hold last week by federal agencies after six women—of almost 7 million vaccinated—developed a rare blood clot that led to a stroke-like condition. One of the women died, a Virginian in her 40s.
To date, four of every 10 residents of the stated have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and one of every four is fully vaccinated, according to the Virginia Department of Health. New cases have plateaued in Virginia, and Monday marked the first time all year that the number of new people testing positive was less than 1,000 in one day.
There were 978 new cases in the state.
However, the governor said, people are still dying from the virus, emphasizing “this is no time for Virginia to let down our guard.” As of Monday, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 10,595 state residents including 260 people who lived in the Rappahannock Area Health District.
The deaths of three Spotsylvania County residents have been reported since Friday, including one Latino man in his 40s, a white woman in her 60s and a white man, age 80-plus. None of them lived in a long-term care facility.