Children 5 to 11, booster shot recipients now may walk up to RHHD vaccination events
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Children ages 5 to 11 no longer need to have appointments to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at Richmond and Henrico Health Districts events.
RHHD officials announced Tuesday that effective immediately, all of the agency's events will offer walk-up opportunities for children – and also for anyone who needs a booster shot. All other groups already were able to walk up and be vaccinated.
Vaccination efforts began nearly two weeks ago for children 5 to 11, after federal officials authorized the Pfizer vaccine for use in that age group.
The changes apply only to RHHD events and do not apply to pharmacies or doctors' offices, which may have their own policies.
The agency had required appointments for children in order to ensure an easy experience for families. Now that nearly 3,400 Henrico children in the 5-to-11 age range have been vaccinated, officials said they have a good idea of what to expect moving forward.
“After a couple of weeks of offering pediatric COVID-19 vaccines, our teams have more experience running pediatric clinics and we have a better sense of demand and clinic flow,” said RHHD Public Health Nurse Joanna Cirillo. “We are now confidently able to offer all of our appointments to walk-ups… We hope this makes the process even easier and more accessible.”
Walk-up vaccinations are available at the Arthur Ashe Center on Ashe Boulevard in Richmond (next to The Diamond), which is operated by VDH contractor AshBritt. Appointments still may be made at http://vax.rchd.com or by calling (804) 205-3501 but are no longer be required. That site also displays other RHHD events.
