7,000 local seniors to receive COVID-19 vaccine Friday-Sunday

Seven thousand local senior citizens will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine doses Jan. 29-31 during three mass vaccination events in the region.

The events will provide doses for residents of Henrico, Hanover, Richmond and Chesterfield who previously registered or completed interest forms online. Doses will come from each locality’s own allotment and from the VCU Health System, which donated some of its vaccines to the effort. (Governor Ralph Northam earlier this week indicated that health systems could donate vaccine they were saving for use as second doses in order to provide initial doses for seniors sooner.)

The Citizen is not identifying the location of the events, since walk-up attendees are not permitted.

Seniors who completed registrations or interest forms should check their emails and answer their phones, since officials will reach out directly to invite them to the events and will not be able to accept call-backs. Those selected will receive one e-mail and two phone calls (between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.) before the scheduler moves on to the next person, officials said in a Thursday afternoon statement.

The process will continue until all appointments are filled.

At least 40,000 seniors in Henrico and Richmond have formally expressed an interest in being vaccinated, according to Richmond and Henrico health districts spokesperson Cat Long.

“Seniors are such a vital part of our community and they’ve gone through such hardship this pandemic,” said Richmond and Henrico health districts Nurse Manager at RHHD Amy Popovich, “we’re grateful for this opportunity to serve them.”

Senior events will feature adjustments to make the events more accessible – including a limited option to have a vaccine administered while seniors wait in their cars, as well as shorter walking distances for those who enter the facility and additional staff to increase the time spent with each patient.

The events will predominantly serve adults 75 and older, officials said.

“In addition to offering our communities this life-saving resource, we’ve also heard that the experience has been good overall,” said Henrico County Emergency Manager Jackson Baynard. “We want to create a comfortable and safe environment for our seniors.”

To become eligible for future vaccination events, qualifying residents of Henrico should complete an interest form at http://vax.rchd.com or call (804) 205-3501.