Vaccinations move to phase 1b in the historical triangle. Here’s what communities are doing to help



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Sarah Bottiglieri, a preschool teacher at Laurel Lane Elementary School receives a dose of Moderna vaccine at Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center.  (WYDaily / Courtesy of the City of Williamsburg)
Sarah Bottiglieri, a preschool teacher at Laurel Lane Elementary School receives a dose of Moderna vaccine at Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center. (WYDaily / Courtesy of the City of Williamsburg)

As of today, the Peninsula Health District has moved COVID-19 vaccination to “phase 1b” priority groups, according to district press release.

According to the Virginia Department of Health, Phase 1b includes essential frontline workers, people 65 and older, people 16 to 64 years old with underlying health conditions, and people living in institutions. correctional facilities, homeless shelters and migrant labor camps.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced last Thursday that he was transferring people 65 and older to Phase 1B in accordance with revised guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. While there is no timeline for Virginia to move from one phase to the next, Northam has asked VDH to allow health districts to move through the phases at their own pace.

RELATED STORY: Northam: COVID-19 Vaccine Now Available for Residents 65 and Over; those with co-morbidities

“We will focus on frontline workers, those living in congregations and those 75 and over,” the PHD press release says.

As defined by VDH, essential frontline workers include:

  • Police, firefighters and Hazmat
  • Correctional and homeless shelter workers
  • Childcare / Teachers / PreK-12 staff (public and private)
  • Food and agriculture (including veterinarians)
  • Manufacturing
  • Grocery store employees
  • Transit workers
  • Factors (USPS and private)
  • Officials needed to maintain continuity of government (including judges and court officials facing the public)

Full definitions of all phases, data and other information can be found on the VDH’s Vaccine Response website.

“The vaccine supply remains limited,” PhD director Dr Natasha Dwamena said in a statement in the press release. “So we start with the people most at risk of infection and dead. “

“In the peninsula, it is people over 75 and over, those who live in community,” she added.

RELATED STORY: Peninsula Health District Expands COVID-19 Vaccinations to Priority ‘Phase 1b’ Beneficiaries

VDH data shows that as of Friday 48,034 Virginians have been fully vaccinated, while 376,823 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Williamsburg-James City County school staff began receiving the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. They are the first group to receive vaccinations at a temporary clinic established at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, according to a press release from the city of Williamsburg.

“The start of the vaccination process, coupled with the consistent use of masks, social distancing and cleaning protocols in schools, strengthens our ability to get students back to classrooms safely,” said Olwen Herron, director of WJCC schools, in a press release. .

This clinic is not yet open to the public and the City of Williamsburg is requesting that the public allow workers at these sites to work continuously.

An announcement will be made when the sites open to public vaccination.

“By starting with a smaller number of people, we are able to test our processes within the clinic and make adjustments when we have enough vaccine to open it to the general public,” said Andrew O. Trivette. , city manager of Williamsburg, in a statement. declaration.

The Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center clinic is one of three vaccination clinics to open on the peninsula this week. The other two PHD clinics are located at the Hampton Roads Convention Center and Christopher Newport University.

These clinics will soon be able to serve large numbers of people every operational day once a sufficient supply of vaccines becomes available. The existing medical staff, including school nurses, from each locality of the doctorate will serve as vaccinators.

The Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center will remain closed to customers until the facility is no longer required for this initiative.

As of Friday, a total of 4,758 doses of the vaccine had been administered in Williamsburg, James City and York counties, according to the City of Williamsburg COVID-19 data dashboard.

As of Friday, 12 vaccines were administered in Williamsburg, 1,695 vaccines in York County and 3,051 vaccines in James City County.

The vaccine data shows locality based on where the person who received the vaccine lives, not where the vaccine was given.

Last week, the city of Williamsburg announced that city staff were working with Riverside, Sentara Healthcare, PHD and neighboring communities to set up mass vaccination clinics to increase the number of vaccines administered locally, according to a press release from the city of Williamsburg.

An initial group of paramedics from the Williamsburg Fire Department have been trained to administer the vaccines. DCE staff will soon be trained on the state planning and management program for the immunization process as well.

In conjunction with the County of James City, Williamsburg plans to vaccinate interested city and county employees who fall into categories in appropriate stages in the coming weeks.

The PHD has also committed to opening a secondary clinic in its Ironbound Road location, which will likely open in the coming weeks. As the supply of vaccines increases, local drugstore chains and doctors’ offices should be able to join in the effort.

PHD planning teams are contacting employers during phase 1b, and soon the district will be implementing an automated planning system.

VDH has created a questionnaire to help people find out what category of the staged distribution system they belong to.

In the meantime, those on priority Phase 1b can register online through the PHD website here or call 757-594-7496 and leave information when prompted.

All distribution points and vaccination clinics are by appointment only. Eligible people will be called in the order in which the call was received.

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