Prioritizing Phase 1b groups
The chart below shows what percentage of doses will be allocated by Richmond and Henrico Health Districts to each priority group as of March 8th. These percentages will shift as more vaccinations are completed in groups that became eligible sooner and more vaccine doses become available.
Should supply of the vaccine become constrained, state and local health departments will further prioritize vaccination within each of the groups above to ensure residents with the greatest risk are cared for first. In that situation, the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and our partners will review a number of factors for each group (outlined below) to ensure that those who are most likely to become severely ill if infected, live in communities where the burden of infection is greatest, or face other significant barriers to equitable care have priority access to the vaccine.
Phase 1a & congregate care
The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will continue to offer priority appointments to any remaining Phase 1a healthcare workers and individuals living in congregate settings like jails, groups homes, and long-term care facilities.
Adults age 65+
Moving forward, we will dedicate half of our vaccine supply to our region’s seniors. We will continue to use the following framework for prioritizing seniors who have pre-registered for the vaccine:
- Age (older residents will be vaccinated sooner within this group)
- Race and ethnicity (Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian or Alaska Native residents will receive priority)
- Burden of disease (infection, hospitalization, and death rates) in the area where a person lives
- Social Vulnerability Score (SVI, see note below) of the area where a person lives
Frontline essential workers
We will prioritize frontline essential workers who pre-register for the vaccine in much the same way we prioritize seniors:
- Age (older residents will be vaccinated sooner within this group)
- Race and ethnicity (Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian or Alaska Native residents will receive priority)
- Burden of disease (infection, hospitalization, and death rates) in the area where a person lives
- Social Vulnerability Score (SVI) of the area where a person lives
- Level of work-based exposure
Essential workers who have pre-registered through Vaccinate Virginia who are over age 65 or are ages 16–64 with a serious medical underlying condition or disability may be offered a vaccination appointment and receive the vaccine sooner than their coworkers because of their status in these other Phase 1b categories.
Employers of essential workers
In addition to prioritizing individual essential workers, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will evaluate entire workplaces and workforce groups to determine their shared risk and exposure level. Employers will be invited to report on the following metrics to help describe the level of risk of their employees overall:
- Percentage of employees with an elevated exposure risk while at work
- Percentage of employees who are Black and/orHispanic/Latinx and/or American Indian or Alaska Native
- Percentage of employees who are over age 65
- Percentage of employees who are not insured through their workplace
- Percentage of employees with limited English proficiency
- Percentage of employees who have attained a high school diploma or less.
Workplaces and workforce groups with an elevated risk and vulnerability level may be provided a pathway for all interested employees to be vaccinated at the same time. These pathways may include, for example, appointments at large events or appointments spread over several dates and times to accommodate different work shifts.
We are already in contact with many of our region’s employers, but if you own a business or organization that you believe qualifies for Phase 1b and have not already been contacted by RHHD, please fill out our form for organizations as soon as possible.
People ages 16-64 with underlying medical conditions and disabilities
Each week the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will allocate a percentage of our total vaccine doses to free clinics and community health centers, primary care providers, speciality outpatient clinics, and health systems to vaccinate their existing patients aged 16–64 with underlying medical conditions or disabilities. Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will ask providers to weigh the following factors when selecting patients to receive vaccine for people aged 16–64 with underlying medical conditions or disabilities:
- Age (older residents will be vaccinated sooner within this group)
- Race and ethnicity (Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian or Alaska Native residents will receive priority)
- Socioeconomic status (residents who are under and uninsured)
Anyone who qualifies within this group but does not have a primary care provider is eligible to receive the vaccine at one of Richmond and Henrico Health Districts’ vaccination events. Please fill out the statewide pre-registration form and a member of our registration team will contact you.
How do I get vaccinated?
Anyone interested in receiving a vaccination should fill out the pre-registration form at vaccinate.virginia.gov. Any person, even those who are not in Phases 1a or Phase 1b, is eligible to pre-register. If you have already pre-registered, you can visit the Vaccinate Virginia site anytime to confirm your status.
If you or someone you know is unable to pre-register through the Vaccinate Virginia website, call 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682) and a representative can help you through the process. Help is available in English and Spanish, with callback options in 100 other languages.
Health department staff will call or email those who have pre-registered to initiate the registration process so you can make an appointment for one of our vaccination events or register with a designated vaccination partner. Eligible individuals will receive their vaccination by appointment only through one of the following pathways:
- Large, small, and mobile RHHD vaccination events hosted across the region
- Safety net clinics like Capital Area Health Network, Crossover, Health Brigade, and Daily Planet Health Services
- Urgent care providers, like Patient First
- Health Systems, like Bon Secours Richmond, HCA, and VCU Health System
- Primary Care Providers in certain communities
- Local pharmacies, like Hope, Westwood, and Bremo pharmacies
- Retail pharmacies, like CVS and Walgreens
To ensure that all residents who are eligible for the vaccine have equitable access, Richmond and Henrico Health districts will also hold pop-up clinics in communities where residents may have limited access to the technology or transportation they need to register for and receive the vaccine. We will also continue to partner with faith-based and community organizations that are conducting outreach and promoting vaccination in their communities.
Options to receive the vaccine will continue to grow as our vaccine supply increases in the months ahead.
A note about the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index
The CDC created the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to help identify communities that are most likely to experience a greater burden of disease and hardship in the event of an emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The index examines factors for the entire community such as race, language of origin, and rates of poverty, employment, educational attainment, transportation access, home ownership, and single-parent households. In Richmond and Henrico, neighborhoods with a high SVI score are experiencing higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death. These neighborhoods are also more likely to house mostly Black, Latinx, or older residents.
