VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — COVID-19 Vaccinations in Virginia will soon expand to more people, but many people want to know where to go when it’s time to get the shot.
“How do we find that out? There are so many people around here that don’t know that,” explained Virginia Beach resident, Vicki Williams.
Williams said her husband Bill turns 80 next month and has lung and heart disease. He’s in group 1B to get the vaccine, but Williams said she hasn’t heard where he should go to get the shot or what kind of paperwork he needs to fill out first.
“We’ve called, I called the hospitals. I’ve called the pharmacy. I’ve called my doctor and they are stressed and the pharmacies and the hospitals, I’m sorry but they have been rude,” she explained. “They are probably sick and tired of the phone calls which I’m sure if I was on that end, I’d be sick of the phone calls too. We are worried about our own families.”
The CDC recommends vaccinating people 65 and older right now, however, health officials in VA plan to start vaccinating people in group 1B by the end of this month. That includes people over the age of 75, first responders, teachers, grocery store workers, and people in manufacturing, public transit, and foodservice industries.
Chesapeake Health Department Spokeswoman, Kimi Stevens, said the easiest thing to do is take an online quiz to find on what phase of the vaccination process you are in. When you are done with the quiz, there is an option to type in your name and phone number.
She said, “That system will send out an email blast across to that group saying hi, the vaccine is now available for you in this area, contact your local health department to make arrangements and that’s when we’ll come in.”
Stevens said each health district will have its own distribution plans.
She explained, “Virginia Beach might have a drive-thru clinic where we may have a walk-thru clinic.”
In the city of Chesapeake, Stevens said they are already planning several large-scale events.
“Including several drive-thru, occupying the Chesapeake Conference Center for a month or two to be able to have all our supplies in one spot. Logistics would be easy. All these are agreements that we are working on right now. Nothing is set in stone,” she said.
Stevens said registration is required for each person getting the vaccine. The health department will announce other details about administering the vaccine at a later date.
For more information, click the links below.
VDH COVID-10 Vaccine webpage: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/covid-19-vaccine/
What phase do I fall under?:
75 and over: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/covid-19-faq/
Chesapeake Health Department website: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/chesapeake/
