RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts are expecting to vaccinate 12,000 seniors at three mass vaccination events over the next week.
The vaccination events, scheduled for Saturday, March 6, Monday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 10, are for pre-registered seniors in Henrico and Richmond.
The March 8 event will utilize the health district's first shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which was recently deemed safe and effective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Pfizer vaccines will be offered on March 6 and 10.
Amy Popovich, Richmond and Henrico County Health District Nurse Manager, said the events will vaccinate the majority of the seniors on the health districts pre-registration list.
“It is more important now than ever for pre-registered Richmond and Henrico seniors to check their email and answer their phone,” said Popovich.
Health officials say seniors who provided email addresses will be contacted Wednesday through Friday. Emails will come from the CDC's VAMS with the domain @envelope.mail.vams.cdc.gov [envelope.mail.vams.cdc.gov].
Officials recommend seniors check their email one to three times per day through Friday. Additionally, seniors are asked to look for their email in all their email folders (including spam, promotions).
The health district will call seniors who pre-registered, but did not leave an email address. Those calls will be made this week between March 3 -5 from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
"The calls will come from a variety of numbers and may be listed as a 'spam call' on your phone. We are not leaving messages or taking callbacks, but will reach out to seniors multiple times," said a health district spokesperson.
Health officials offered these tips for seniors to avoid scams:
- Make sure the e-mail comes from the domain @envelope.mail.vams.cdc.gov [envelope.mail.vams.cdc.gov] before clicking on any links
- Hang up the phone or delete the e-mail if they are asked for any form of payment, social security number, or insurance ID numbers
Individuals interested in receiving a vaccine and haven't pre-registered are asked to do so here or call 877-VAX-IN-VA.
Health officials say seniors not contacted this weekend can expect to be contacted for other events in the coming weeks.