As of March 18, Phase 1c ‘age, health and essential employment’ categories are COVID vaccine eligible – see if you qualify

Below is the latest information on registration, availability and distribution of the COVID-19 Coronavirus vaccine locally in Warren County as of the March 25 Emergency Services Situation Report. Good news is that distribution has reached the Phase 1c category of prioritized eligibility as of March 18, expanding who may now receive the vaccine.

Phase 1c includes the following medical, age and essential employment categories: other essential workers, persons age 64-75, and persons age 16-64 with high risk medical conditions. “Phase 1c essential workers” include (in priority order): (all below 1-10 categories open effective 3/18/2021):

1. Transportation and Logistics
2. Food Service
3. Shelter and Housing (construction)
4. Finance
5. IT and Communication
6. Energy
7. Media
8. Legal
9. Public Safety (engineers)
10. Water and Wastewater

And now for the related Situation Report regarding vaccine distribution, including ongoing volunteer opportunities to help with distribution:

Approaching the 15th Street gym, at left-center of photo, on Massanutten Ave. Below, the gym entrance for COVID vaccination check in. Royal Examiner File Photos by Roger Bianchini

3. Valley Health – VDH Lord Fairfax Health District Vaccine Information (as of 3/25/2020)

a. STATEWIDE:

a. Governor Northam Unveils Statewide COVID-19 Vaccine Pre-Registration System

i. Article: governor.virginia.gov/newsroom
ii. Pre-Registration Website & Phone Number: vaccinate.virginia.gov or 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682).
iii. Locally, VDH and Valley Health officials recommend that anyone who wants the COVID-19 vaccination (and is not currently scheduled to or has already received the vaccination) to pre-register on this website.
iv. In the near future, VDH and Valley Health intends to fully transition to using this “list” by merging all current “lists” and processes into one.
v. This list is not going to be a first-come, first-served list, but rather will be used to make appointment lists for planned clinics, whose invited patients will favor the more elderly and vulnerable. All 1a and 1b eligible persons should be able to now sign up.

b. VDH COVID-19 Vaccination Response (Current VDH Information):

i. vdh.virginia.gov/covid-19-vaccine

c. Effective March 18, 2021: The COVID-19 vaccination will be made available to “Phase 1c” eligible recipients. “Phase 1a and 1b” eligible recipients may still receive the vaccine as well.

b. THIS WEEK: There were two Valley Health vaccination clinics at the 15th St. Gym (Wed – 24th and Thu – 25th).

c. NEXT WEEK: VDH has one COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the 15th St. Gym scheduled (Tue – 30th).

d. VACCINE SIGN-UP: In partnership with Valley Health and the Lord Fairfax Health District, distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is now occurring in Warren County. For the most up-to-date information on where and when to locally receive the vaccine, visit:

i. valleyhealthlink.com/patients-visitors

a. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: In order to distribute the COVID-19 vaccination in quickest and most efficient manner, volunteers are needed to fill essential roles in the operation of the Warren County Point of Distribution (POD) site at the 15th St. Gym. The six essential roles are:

ii. Greeter: an adult that checks patients in and directs them to the next station
iii. Navigator: a clinical provider that reviews forms and looks for any “red flags”
iv. Observer: an adult that monitors patients for 15 minutes after the injection of the vaccination to monitor for any adverse side effects; must have Basic Life Support certification or above
v. Pharmacist: prepares the vaccine for injection; must be currently licensed
vi. Runner/Floater: monitors vaccine inventory and assists in communicating between POD stations
vii. Vaccinator: a health care provider that administers the COVID-19 vaccination; must be a currently licensed/certified LPN, RN, M.D., D.O., AEMT, EMT-I, EMT-P

b. SIGN-UP GENIUS: If you meet the above criteria, and are willing to volunteer during the operation of the COVID-19 POD in Warren County, please visit the below site to sign-up:

viii. signupgenius.com/go
ix. In an effort to give our local community members a chance to sign up to volunteer for the Warren Valley Health COVID vaccine clinics, we have created a new Sign Up Genius link for the clinic on April 5, and for all other clinics after April 8:
x. signupgenius.com/go

Check in is in distance, check out in foreground, as volunteers and Valley Health personnel combine to make the vaccination process as safe, comfortable and efficient as possible.

c. PRIORITIZED DISTRIBUTION: The CDC’s Advisory Council on Immunization Practices (ACIP) prioritized the initial distribution of the vaccine (as available) to health care personnel (hospital and EMS based) and residents of long term care facilities. Other Phase I groups (in order) include essential workers, people at higher risk for severe disease (over age of 75); Phase II – other populations; and Phase III – the general public. Distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination began late last month in Warren County.

xi. December 2020: Lord Fairfax Health District began Phase 1a distribution of the vaccine … (Clarke and Warren County first responders/age 75+).

1. Health Care personnel (Round 1 complete, Round 2 planned)
2. LTCF Residents and Staff (see below)

xii. January-February 2021: The CDC is allocating the vaccine directly to CVS to vaccinate Phase 1a long term care residents. CVS began this process locally this month (January) going directly to our long term care facilities.

1. Commonwealth Senior Living (Round 1 complete, 2 started)
2. Fox Trail Senior Living (Round 1 complete, 2 started)
3. Heritage Hall (Round 1 started, 2 TBD)
4. Hidden Springs (Round 1 complete, 2 started)
5. Woods Cove (Round 1 complete, 2 scheduled)
6. Shenandoah Senior Living (Round 1 complete, 2 started)
7. Lynn Care (Round 1 complete, 2 started)
8. Woods Cove (Round 1 complete, Round 2 scheduled)

xiii. January-February 2021: The next allocation (“Phase 1b”) of vaccinations the County receives will be for front line essential workers and persons age 75 and older. Front line essential workers include (in priority order):

1. Police, Fire, and HAZMAT (Round 1 complete, Round 2 as required)
2. Corrections workers (Round 1 complete, Round 2 as required)
3. Childcare, K-12 Teachers/Staff (Round 1 complete, Round 2 as required)
4. Food and Agriculture (open)
5. Manufacturing (open)
6. U.S. Postal Service workers (open)
7. Public Transit workers (open)
8. Grocery Store workers (open)
9. Officials needed to maintain continuity of government (open)
10. Persons Age 75 (65) and older (Round 1 ongoing, Round 2 scheduled)

xiv. And as noted above as of March 18, the following allocation (“Phase 1c”) of vaccinations will be for other essential workers, persons age 64-75, and persons age 16-64 with high risk medical conditions. Other essential workers include (in priority order):

1. Transportation and Logistics (all below 1-10 categories open effective 3/18/2021)
2. Food Service
3. Shelter and Housing (construction)
4. Finance
5. IT and Communication
6. Energy
7. Media
8. Legal
9. Public Safety (engineers)
10. Water and Wastewater
d. No further details available at this time, more to follow.