State, feds jump in to help in Hampton Roads Push targets hard-hit communities on Southside
PORTSMOUTH — An overhauled vaccine program that will give out 5,000 shots per week at the Portsmouth Sportsplex — 3,500 more than the local health district could distribute — kicked off Tuesday.
State and federal emergency management officials and private contractors are running the new effort, but local health officials are not planning to take a back seat in responding to the pandemic.
Dr. Lauren James, director of the Portsmouth health district, said low staffing levels were the main limiting factor in vaccine distribution. Before, her staff was completely focused on vaccines and contact tracing, leaving little time to answer questions or help those who had trouble getting registered or had other special needs.
The influx of 40 to 50 new staff and volunteers will allow her staff to reach out to residents with the greatest level of need. She expects to
focus on residents who can’t go to a vaccine clinic or have illnesses that deter them from going out in public during the pandemic.
James believes doing that type of work will also help to alleviate concerns residents have shared about the vaccine.
“We need to reach out to communities that have been historically underrepresented,” said Janice Underwood, Virginia’s chief diversity and inclusion officer.
The first three vaccine sites to get state help were Portsmouth, Danville and Petersburg. State officials said those cities were chosen because of their senior populations and proportion of Black and Latino residents, coupled with the rate of hospitalizations and deaths.
Underwood said the clinics are part of Virginia’s efforts toward health equity and the state wants to open similar expanded clinics in the 20 “most vulnerable” localities.
Portsmouth is a majority Black city, but only 43% of vaccines have gone to Black residents, according to state data.
Meanwhile, in cases in which race was reported, Black residents account for 62% of cases and deaths in the city.
After Portsmouth’s slow start in vaccines, it will get a dramatic increase in doses thanks to a boost from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the
On Tuesday, the state announced that Hampton Roads’ second mass vaccine clinic is coming to Suffolk on April 6.
Virginia Department of Emergency Management and contractors Ashbritt and IEM Health.
Gerardo Castillo, a representative of the companies, said many of the staff and volunteers at the clinic are from Hampton Roads. As officials combat skepticism and distrust of the vaccine, they hope having local faces behind masks at the clinics helps people feel at ease.
The first issue Portsmouth’s expanded clinic faced, however, was not skepticism.
It was a morning backup that resulted in a line of expectant vaccine recipients snaking out into the Sportsplex parking lot. At one point, a Virginian-Pilot photographer observed a box truck arrive with several wheelchairs that were assembled and distributed to people with mobility issues as they waited.
Lauren Opett, a state emergency management spokeswoman, said the long lines were not a total surprise for the clinic’s first day and should be less of an issue as the new team at the clinic finds its rhythm. She said the wheelchairs were part of the plans in case of long wait times.
Opett said the main cause of the long lines were people arriving far in advance of their appointments — two hours early in some cases — and others getting in line without an appointment. Those without an appointment are turned away. Some who arrive early are instructed to wait in their vehicle until their scheduled time.
“Some are anxious that we’ll run out, but there’s enough vaccine for every appointment,” Opett said.
On Monday, Danville’s clinic had 3,000 appointments on its schedule and also saw long lines in the morning.
Erin Sutton, chief deputy state coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said it seemed like everyone showed up at 8 a.m.
Officials ask people to arrive only 20 minutes early.
Danny Avula, state vaccination coordinator, told reporters on Friday that how long the clinic will be open in Portsmouth depends on how many people use it and whether it can draw from a broader geographic area. Some of the FEMA sites operate for two to three weeks before moving to another area, and others stay longer, he said.
On Tuesday, the state announced that Hampton Roads’ second mass vaccine clinic is coming to Suffolk on April 6.
To preregister for the vaccine, visit vaccinate. virginia.gov or call the COVID Vaccine Hotline at 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877829-4682).