Beginning April 18th, Virginia will open COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to anyone age 16 and over.
Governor Ralph Northam made the announcement Thursday morning while touring a vaccination center in Prince William County.
According to the announcement, anyone in the Phase 1 elibility group who is currently pre-registered will receive an invitation to an appointment within the next two weeks. Northam said most people pre-registered in the highest risk categories have received an appointment.
Health districts that are already vaccinating people in the 1C eligibility group may begin scheduling general population appointments as early as April 4th.
Click here to read the full announcement
As the state moves into Phase 2, Northam said vaccination efforts will continue to focus on vulnerable and medically underserved populations.
Speaking at a vaccination center in Henrico County Thursday, the state's vaccine coordinator said the process for accessing vaccine won't dramatically change on April 18th. "The goal at general eligibility for April 18th is that people will be open schedule into appointments," Dr. Danny Avula said. "So we won’t have a lot of mass vaccination clinics that people can walk up to. It will still be through a scheduling process, ideally that happens through a centralized website."
Also Thursday, the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District and the Blue Ridge Health District in the Charlottesville area began vaccinating the 1C eligibility group.
