Based on our population, Virginia will begin receiving approximately 161,000 doses of vaccine per week from the federal government, an increase of 25% over the current weekly allocation of approximately 129,000, and 53% more than Virginia’s initial weekly allocation of 105,000 doses. While these increases are significant, there are still not enough doses available for everyone who is eligible to receive them. Virginia expects to meet the demand for Phase 1b in March or April. Pre-registered individuals may need to wait weeks or longer for available appointments.
As part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, 36 CVS Pharmacy locations in Virginia receive 26,000 first doses per week beyond Virginia’s normal allocation. Anyone 65 years of age or older can check cvs.com regularly for available appointments. The number of weekly doses and retail locations participating are expected to increase in the coming weeks. The Virginia Department of Health will continue to help CVS select locations based on equity indicators, to ensure all populations have access to vaccines. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/news/additional-pharmacy-networks-added-to-federal-partnership-to-provide-no-cost-covid-19-vaccines/
Virginia is seeing delays in this week’s vaccine shipments because of severe winter weather. The Commonwealth will likely see a delay in the delivery of approximately 106,800 doses because distribution channels in the Midwest and elsewhere are currently shut down. The Virginia Department of Health is distributing guidance to providers on how to determine the status of their vaccine and ancillary supply orders, and is working closely with federal partners to determine the status of orders and how to mitigate the delay and impact on Virginians.
Virginians can get information, pre-register, and verify that they have pre-registered, online 24/7 at virginia.gov or by calling 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682) 7 days a week, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm ET.
Best Practice Spotlight
V-safe is a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after patients receive a COVID-19 vaccine and allows CDC to monitor vaccine safety. As of January 24, ACIP reported that only 9.52% of COVID-19 vaccine recipients completed at least one v-safe check in. For this reason, it is important to provide patients with a v-safe handout in the most appropriate language and ensure they know how to sign up. Consider using the following best practices:
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Stock your clinic with v-safe handouts that suit the anticipated language and accessibility needs of your patient population.
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Package the v-safe handout, EUA Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers, and other education or consent forms (if applicable) and give to patients before their appointment. For example, email the package to patients after online registration, put it in their patient portal, or send it with the appointment reminder.
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Encourage patients to sign up for v-safe during their post-vaccination observation period and/or remind them to sign up during check-out.
Check out our complete list of COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Best Practices here.
Upcoming Events
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February 28 - March 1: Emergency Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Meeting..
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Meeting times (subject to change): Feb 28, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm ET; March 1, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm ET.
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March 2, 2-3 pm: CDC COCA Call. What Clinicians Need to Know About the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine
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March 4, 1-2 pm: Overviews of CDC’s Post-Authorization/Post-Licensure Safety Monitoring and Communications for the COVID-19 Vaccines
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March 5, 1-2:15 pm: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) – Leadership and Policy: Actions to Address Racism as a Public Health Issue
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March 12, 1-2:15 pm: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) – Transforming Public Health Through Leadership, Justice, and Racial Healing
Helpful Resources
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Because real-time data are critical to rapid decision-making and reallocation of vaccines, COVID-19 vaccination providers must document vaccine administration in their medical record systems and VIIS within 24 hours of administration. Second dose allocations are dependent on accurate entries of first dose administration records in VIIS. To expedite the process, consider using an electronic medical record system that automatically uploads to VIIS, such as PrepMod. For guidance and training on using VIIS, including both videos and pdfs focused on specific topics, please visit the VDH VIIS resources page.>
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Visit VDH’s up-to-date Patient Education website to download and print COVID-19 related patient education handouts and posters, including a new communication toolkit for the COVID-19 vaccine pre-registration system and COVID information center.
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Pfizer began Phase 2/3 clinical trials of their COVID-19 vaccine on 4,000 pregnant women between 24-34 weeks of gestation on February 18, 2021. The study will follow the women for 7-10 months, and will also assess safety in infants of vaccinated pregnant women and the transfer of antibodies to infants. Infants will be monitored through approximately six months of age.
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Warn your patients about COVID-19 vaccine scams by displaying this flyer at your practice or providing it to patients.
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Recently updated CDC resources:
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COVID-19 Science Update: February 19, 2021 Edition - Topics include:
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Rapid decline of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
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Emergence of a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant in Southern California
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Detection of genomic variants of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in wastewater
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Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccine intent
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Genomic signatures of SARS-CoV-2 associated with patient mortality
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SARS-CoV-2 cluster in an acute care hospital
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Poor antigen-specific responses to the second BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine dose in SARS-CoV-2-experienced individuals
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Neutralization of viruses with European, South African, and United States SARS-CoV-2 variant spike proteins by convalescent sera and BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine-elicited antibodies
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