As of today, the Sanitary District of the Peninsula has changed the vaccination COVID-19 for the priority groups of “Phase 1b”, according to a district press release.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, Phase 1b includes essential frontline workers, people aged 65 and over, people aged 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions and people living in correctional facilities, shelters for homeless people and labor camps for migrants.
Governor Ralph Northam announced last Thursday that he is moving people aged 65 and over to Phase 1B in accordance with the revised guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While there is no timetable for when Virginia will move from one phase to another, Northam instructed the HRD to allow health districts to move through the phases at their own pace.
RELATED HISTORY: Northam: COVID-19 vaccine now available to residents aged 65 and over; those with comorbidities
“Our focus will be on the frontline workers, those living in congregated environments and people aged 75 and over,” the PHD press release said.
As defined by the VDH, essential frontline workers include:
- Police, Firefighters and Hazmat
- Correctional and homeless shelter workers
- Childcare / pre-school teachers / staff at age 12 (public and private)
- Food and agriculture (including veterinarians)
- Manufacturing
- Grocery store workers
- Public transport workers
- Mail carriers (USPS and private)
- Officials needed to maintain government continuity (including judges and court officials facing the public)
The complete definitions of all phases, data and other information are on the VDH’s Vaccine Response website.
“The supply of vaccines remains limited,” said Dr. Natasha Dwamena, director of PHD, in a press release. “So, we are starting with the people most at risk of infection and death.”
“In the Peninsula, they are people over 75 years of age or older, those who live in a congregated environment,” she added.
RELATED HISTORY: The Peninsula Health District expands COVID-19 vaccinations to ‘Phase 1b’ priority recipients
VDH data shows that as of Friday, 48,034 Virgos have been fully vaccinated, while 376,823 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
On Friday, the Williamsburg-James City County school team began receiving the first dose of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine. They are the first group to receive vaccines at a temporary clinic established at the Williamsburg Colonial Visitors Center, according to a press release from the city of Williamsburg.
“The start of the vaccination process, coupled with consistent use of masks, social distance and cleaning protocols in schools, strengthens our ability to bring students back to classrooms safely,” said Olwen Herron, superintendent of the WJCC Schools , in a statement released in the press release.
This clinic is not yet open to the public, and the city of Williamsburg is asking the public to allow workers in these locations to work without interruption.
An announcement will be made when the sites are opened for public vaccination.
“Starting with a smaller group of people, we are able to test our processes within the clinic and make adjustments for when we have enough vaccine stock to open it to the general public,” said Williamsburg city manager Andrew O. Trivette , in a statement.
The Williamsburg Colonial Visitor Center clinic is one of three vaccination clinics to open on the Peninsula this week. The other two PHD clinics are located at Hampton Roads Convention Center and Christopher Newport University.
Soon, these clinics will be able to serve a large number of people each operational day, once sufficient vaccine supplies are made available. Existing medical staff, including school nurses, from each PHD location will serve as vaccinators.
The Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center will remain closed to visitors until the facilities are no longer needed for this initiative.
As of Friday, a total of 4,758 doses of vaccine have been administered in Williamsburg, James City and York counties, according to the Williamsburg city data panel COVID-19.
As of Friday, 12 vaccines have been administered in Williamsburg, 1,695 vaccines in York County and 3,051 vaccines in James City County.
Vaccine data shows the location based on where the person who received the vaccine lives, not where the vaccine was administered.
Last week, the city of Williamsburg announced that the city team is working with Riverside, Sentara Healthcare, the PHD and nearby locations to raise mass vaccination clinics to increase the number of vaccines administered locally, according to a press release. Williamsburg.
An initial group of paramedics from the Williamsburg Fire Department received training to administer the vaccines. Soon, WFD staff will also be trained in the state program for programming and managing the vaccination process.
In conjunction with James City County, Williamsburg plans to vaccinate interested city and county officials who fall into the appropriate phase categories in the coming weeks.
PHD has also pledged to open a secondary clinic at its location on Ironbound Road, which is likely to open in the coming weeks. As the supply of vaccines increases, it is hoped that local pharmacy chains and medical offices will be able to join the effort.
PHD planning teams are reaching out to employers in Phase 1b, and the district will soon implement an automated scheduling system.
The VDH created a questionnaire to help people learn which category of the phased distribution system falls under.
Meanwhile, Phase 1b priority individuals can register online via the PHD website here or dial 757-594-7496 and leave the information at the prompt.
All dispensing points and vaccination clinics are by appointment only. Qualified persons will be called in the order in which the call was received.
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