As of 6 p.m. Jan. 22, 2021, more than 14,000 people on the Peninsula have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 15 of which have been administered to City of Williamsburg residents. This statistic is based on the locality in which vaccinated patients live, not where the vaccine was administered. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reports that vaccine administrations may take up to 72 hours to be reported, and that 65,193 doses administered statewide have not been mapped.
The Peninsula Health District, which includes the City, is currently in Phase 1B of the phased distribution system established by VDH. However, though the health district has moved into Phase 1B, the number of vaccines administered are constrained to the limited supply of the vaccine. Phase 1B includes frontline essential workers, such as education staff, police officers, grocery store workers and essential government staff, as well as people aged 65 and older, people in correctional facilities, and people with high-risk medical conditions. Find a full explanation of Phase 1B on the VDH website.
The Peninsula’s city managers, county administrators and emergency managers are working with VDH to ensure vaccinations are available to residents as soon as possible.
The City of Williamsburg has posted its weekly vaccination update to its online hub that collects the latest coronavirus information and visual data. Updates include:
- The Peninsula Health District launched a sign-up form for people aged 65 and older. This form simply records people’s contact information; Peninsula Health District staff will contact those who have filled out the form to schedule a vaccination appointment. Peninsula Health District is in the start-up phase of a secondary clinic in its Ironbound Road location. It is currently scheduling a limited number of patients.
- The City joined other Peninsula jurisdictions to announce the opening of three clinics in the region located at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center, the Hampton Roads Convention Center, and Christopher Newport University. The CNU location, however, will only be used for essential public service employees; officials are working on a new location for Newport News and York County residents when the general public is able to be vaccinated. Currently, none of these clinics are vaccinating the public due to a limited supply of the vaccine. Existing medical staff, including schools nurses, from each locality on the Peninsula will serve as vaccinators at these clinics.
- City staff worked with James City County, York County, Peninsula Health District, and Colonial Williamsburg to open the vaccination clinic at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, where 414 vaccinations were administered today. This clinic is currently vaccinating Williamsburg-James City County Schools staff, a process that will continue next week.
- As more doses of the vaccine become available, essential local government personnel, court, and jail staff will receive their first dose of the vaccine at the Visitor Center.
- City Manager Andrew O. Trivette announced that City of Williamsburg staff will continue to telework, to the extent possible, until Friday, Feb. 5. Learn more about how the city is serving the public as staff teleworks.
- Sentara announced this week that it has begun scheduling vaccinations for its primary care patients who are 75 years and older; Sentara will reach out to its patients through phone, text or their Sentara MyChart account. Riverside previously announced it had begun vaccinating its primary care patients.