Richmond and Henrico Health Districts to receive just 6,400 weekly vaccine doses for foreseeable future

Barring an unforeseen change, Henrico and Richmond Health District officials will receive only about 6,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccine each week for the foreseeable future – about a quarter of the doses the districts requested.

The districts (which operate as one in many key ways) will distribute those doses thusly, according to Amy Popovich, the nurse manager for both:

• 50% to seniors 65 and older;
• 40% to essential workers who are eligible in Phases 1A and 1B (the latter of which so far is open only to K-12 educators, child care workers, police, fire and hazmat officials);
• 10% for residents and employees of homeless shelters and correctional facilities.

The two districts are equipped to administer roughly 25,000 or more doses each week, she said, but that number isn’t expected to be possible for the foreseeable future since the state is not anticipating more than 105,000 total doses each week for some time. State officials are allocating doses proportionately by health district, based upon population.

To date, more than 56,000 doses of vaccine have been administered in the Richmond region, Popovich said, including about 11,500 that were given by officials from the Richmond and Henrico health districts. (The rest have been given by medical facilities and other partners).

More vaccine doses have been administered in Henrico (21,344) than in any other Virginia locality except Fairfax, the state’s largest (60,488), according to the Virginia Department of Health’s vaccination dashboard. About 3,100 people in Henrico have received both doses of their vaccine.

“Vaccine interest is high, we have a lot of demand,” Popovich said, noting that more than 60,000 people – including about 40,000 who are 65 and older – have completed an interest form on the health districts’ website. “Unfortunately, our demand way exceeds the amount of supply that we have.”

Officials from the two districts had hoped that seniors from Henrico and Richmond who had expressed a desire to be vaccinated would be able to receive those shots at individual doctors’ offices, pharmacies or other partner locations, Popovich said.

But the dearth of available doses has prompted officials instead to pause most of those partnerships and instead plan their own larger-scale vaccination events to reach those people, she said. The health districts are prioritizing by age seniors who have expressed an interest in the vaccine, she said, and each person who has expressed an interest will be contacted directly and scheduled for a vaccination appointment when it’s their turn.

Officials also are giving priority to Latinx and Black citizens, since those communities are suffering ill effects from the virus at disproportionate rates.

Later this week, additional vaccination events are expected to be held at long-term care facilities in Henrico and Richmond, Popovich said.

Popovich understands the frustration among many in the two localities who are wondering when they will hear updates about a possible vaccination timeline, and she urged patience.

“We understand the weight of responsibility of stewarding this vaccine well,” Popovich said. “It’s not a race against each other, but it’s a race against COVID.”

Anyone with questions about vaccination events, second doses of the vaccine or other related topics should call the Richmond and Henrico health districts hotline at (804) 205-3501.