NORFOLK, Va. — More than two million Virginians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the state's vaccine coordinator said he expected that pace to speed up soon.
Dr. Danny Avula, the vaccine coordinator for Virginia, said it was very likely that everyone who wants to be vaccinated could receive at least their first dose by the end of May.
Avula shared an update on vaccination efforts during a teleconference hosted by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-3rd district) on Monday.
Gov. Ralph Northam set an initial vaccination goal of 50,000 daily shots. The Commonwealth now hovers around that mark, and Avula said the average will likely increase.
Starting next week, the state's supply of the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be much higher.
"We expect an infusion of 100,000 or more of the Johnson & Johnson doses to add to our totals into this next week," said Avula.
As of Monday, more than 3 million doses had been administered and 1.1 million people were fully vaccinated in Virginia, according to the VDH website.
"I think we will very realistically be able to get everybody in Phase 1B that wants to get vaccinated -- they should be able to get that chance by the second week of April," he said.
He said Virginia should transition to Phase 1C in the next few weeks.
President Joe Biden directed all states to make every person 18 years or older eligible for vaccines by May 1.
Avula said he thinks Virginia will beat that goal by one or two weeks.
"I think it is very likely that we will have everybody who wants to be vaccinated to at least have their first dose by the end of May," he said.
However, right now, Avula said only 65% of Virginians appear to want the vaccine. The number falls short of the 75% goal to reach herd immunity, which doctors believe is needed to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"We are going to have to work extra hard to reach that 10%," he said.
Avula said the state has to figure out how to decrease barriers and increase access, including leaning on faith leaders, private practices and members of the medical community with close connections to the public.
He also said the Norfolk area would have another federal resource coming in a couple of weeks.