VDH makes website easier for accessing COVID-19 vaccine information

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - With COVID-19 vaccines being distributed every week, a lot of questions remain surrounding when and how to get the vaccine. WDBJ7 followed up with the Virginia Department of Health Friday to get more answers.

Now, it should be a little easier for you to get a better idea of when you can get the COVID-19 vaccine and how. The District Health Director for the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts, Cynthia Morrow, said over the phone that the Virginia Department of Health has improved its website accessibility for vaccine information.

“Click on the category that you are eligible for and there will be a survey. When you complete that survey, that’s telling us that you are interested in getting information about the vaccine. In the ideal world, there is an email associated with that survey so that we can then send a survey and invite when a clinic opens up,” Morrow said.

And if you don’t have an email, there is also an option to put down your phone number.

Morrow says there is still high demand for the vaccine, and even if you’re in Phase 1b, it could be weeks or months until you get an email back.

“We can look at age, we can look at zip code, we can look at different fields and try to ensure that we are reaching the right people,” she said.

Right now, VDH is targeting people ages 75 and older.

“If we take the current Phase 1b eligibility criteria into account, approximately 50% of our population is eligible, which for us, translates into 140,000 people, we are getting 3,150 vaccines a week,” Morrow said.

More vaccines are expected to be available soon, like Johnson & Johnson’s one dose vaccine, so Morrow says that will help to speed up vaccine distribution and get more people protected.

Morrow also warns folks to not host any Super Bowl parties this weekend because those can act as super-spreader events for the disease.

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