The Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District is among several health districts across the state that have expanded eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine to the general public.However, some in the area are making appointments elsewhere.
Dr. Cynthia Morrow says there have been more no-shows at mass vaccination clinics.
“With the expansion of vaccine to health systems, to pharmacies, to health departments, we’re distributing vaccine to providers within the health district," she says. "We’re now at that point that there are a lot more entry points for people to get vaccinated. And that’s we wanted back in December.”
Morrow says those clinics will continue through mid-May, but the district is also planning to reach out to more-vulnerable populations that have had trouble getting shots.
She adds that case numbers are down in the area, but the region has seen a small uptick in the number of hospitalizations from the virus.
Morrow says three cases of the COVID-19 variant first discovered in the U.K. have been found in the Roanoke area. And 10 fully-vaccinated individuals in the district have contracted the virus. However, she says none of those people had to be hospitalized.
