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Virginia expects an increase in COVID-19 vaccine shipments

Posted at 4:55 PM, Feb 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-26 17:34:54-05

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia is getting another increase to its weekly shipment of COVID-19 next week, according to Virginia's vaccine coordinator Dr. Danny Avula.

That number could go even higher if federal authorities approve the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Virginia is set to receive almost 20,000 more doses next of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine next week.

That would bring the total to 180,000 first-round doses delivered weekly to the Commonwealth.

Avula said the federal pharmacy partnership will continue to get 52,000 doses and that all of the new pharmacies taking part in that program have begun vaccinating -- including Walgreens and Walmart.

Instead of doing in-store vaccinations, Walmart is setting up mass vaccination clinics around the state.

Avula revealed that one of those locations is at John Tyler Community College in Chesterfield County.

That and other clinics are by appointment only.

In terms of sign-ups, Avula said CVS and the pharmacies operated by Albertsons won't be working off of the state's COVID-19 vaccine waitlist.

He said they're still finalizing how that will work and told the pharmacies to use their own systems in the meantime.

"We'd like you to keep it to 65 and up, but it's better that it goes to somebody than nobody," Dr. Avula said. "And so we say go ahead and schedule out your next few days, I can't remember what day we told them to schedule until but then after that specific day, they will work off of our lists."

Avula said if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved, Virginia could see 69,000 doses of that single-dose vaccine.