In her weekly virtual update with the media Wednesday, Jan. 10, Dr. Noelle Bissell, director for the New River Health District, said the district’s current supply of the COVID-19 vaccine cannot keep up with demand.
She urged everyone to cheer for every dose of vaccine given no matter who gets it because “That’s putting us one step closer to ending this.”
She encouraged people to remain patient as the district works through the logistics of administering vaccines, particularly as each vial of vaccine must be given within six hours after it has been opened.
“Every dose that we pull from a vial goes in an arm, and the logistical challenge is incredible,” she said. “When you have a large site and you have multiple vials open at the end of the day, we are trying to work from our wait list and our standby list to make sure that those vaccines get into someone’s arm.”
The health district director estimated there are more than 9,000 people in the district who are eligible for the vaccine as part of phase 1a and phase 1b. She said the district is administering first and second doses of the vaccine to people in the phase 1b priority group, which includes teachers, police officers and others who work directly with the public. The phase also includes people age 65 and older and those with high-risk health conditions.
Bissell told the media that some CVS Pharmacy locations in the region are scheduling appointments for the vaccine. Vaccine supplies are coming to the national chain retailer from the federal government’s allotment, not the state’s, Bissell said. People can schedule appointments through the CVS website.
The health district is supplying some local, non-chain pharmacies with vaccine to administer to people in phase 1a and phase 1b groups. “We are working with them to use our priority list to make sure we are as equitable as possible,” she said.
Though demand is high, Dr. Bissell asked people not to schedule multiple appointments for a vaccine, even if they are able to get one quicker at another site. This puts a strain on the health district’s scheduling system.
“Please honor whatever appointment you get for that first dose,” Bissell said. “Let’s get other people appointments who don’t have them yet.”
Though phase 1b includes a wide variety of people, the district is administering vaccine based on priority within that group, the health district director said. For example, she said, people who are age 75 and older have priority over those 65 and older.
“I know it seems that it’s not fair, but anytime you have such an imbalance between supply and demand, there’s going to be that sense of injustice,” she said. “It will take a long time for us to get anyone who needs or wants a vaccine vaccinated.”
Dr. Bissell said it could be the end of March or later before the district can begin vaccinating people who are eligible in phase 1c, which according to the Virginia Department of Health includes employees of higher education institutions and other essential workers in such jobs as housing construction, food service and finance.
Because the district’s supplies of vaccine currently cannot keep up with demand, Bissell said, “It will take weeks to months” for the district to move into the next phase of vaccination. If other vaccine versions are approved in the coming months, there will be more supply available to help the district move into the next phase, she said.
“We have to have patience.”
Dr. Bissell urged everyone to remain vigilant and to follow public health guidelines. Though positive COVID-19 cases are down overall in the district, she said, the coronavirus continues to spread in the community. Even those who receive the first and second dose of the vaccine should continue to wear a facial covering, maintain distance from others, wash their hands and be cautious, she said.
“The vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have a ways to go, and we have to hang in there together,” Bissell told the media.
