HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Henrico County officials are apologizing after canceling several thousand registrations for an upcoming COVID-19 vaccination event at Richmond Raceway.
The cancellation comes after many Central Virginia residents who were not eligible for the event, received a link for the COVID vaccine event by mistake and used it to register.
The signup was intended for use only by public school and public safety employees from Goochland, Hanover and Henrico counties and the City of Richmond — employees who are in the top three front-facing worker groups designated by the VHD for vaccination in Phase 1B.
Tony McDowell, Henrico’s deputy county manager for public safety, said the event was not intended for the general public.
“We regret this error and any inconvenience or confusion it has caused for our residents," said McDowell.
McDowell says more than 55 percent of the registrations — about 6,000 — came from individuals who received the signup link in error.
He says the number of inadvertent registrations exceeded the amount of available vaccine and would have excluded many public school and public safety employees from receiving their vaccinations.
“We are working to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to our community as safely and quickly as possible, in accordance with the Phase 1B priority-group protocols established by the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC,” McDowell said. “We are grateful for everyone’s patience as we continue to work to protect the health and well-being of our community.”
Officials say public school and public safety agencies from Goochland, Hanover, Henrico and Richmond will be in contact with their employees who registered through the signup link.
Chesterfield public school and public safety employees can vaccinate through specific Chesterfield events.
