VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — CVS has made some changes to its plans to offer vaccinations for Virginians, including those of us living in Hampton Roads.
Virginians eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine (right now, folks in Phases 1a and 1b) will now be able to register to get their shots at select CVS locations beginning on Thursday, February 11. The pharmacy had originally hoped to begin scheduling on the 9th.
In Hampton Roads, locations include pharmacies in Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg. Those locations will start administering shots to people who need them beginning on Friday, February 12.
"Supply for the limited rollout in the state, which is sourced directly from the federal pharmacy partnership program, will be approximately 26,000 total doses," wrote a CVS spokesperson.
Additionally, in order to register with CVS, you must first be pre-registered through your local health department. CVS says that at the guidance of the Virginia Department of Health, only people on their local department's waitlist will be eligible to schedule their appointments at CVS Pharmacy.
The CVS vaccine allocation will be provided in addition to Virginia's weekly allotment of vaccine doses. Virginia currently receives about 105,000 doses per week from the federal government.
The Hampton Roads CVS's are not the only ones in Virginia to get doses of the vaccine. The 26,000 shots also will be spread among pharmacies in Bedford, Blacksburg, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Richmond, Roanoke, and Stafford.
Registering for the shots, if you're eligible by state standards to get vaccinated, can be done online or on the CVS app.
Walk-ins will not be allowed. CVS says people without online access can call CVS customer service for help registering, starting on the 11th. The phone number is (800) 746-7287.
"Vaccines will eventually be available at CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the country subject to product availability, with the capacity to administer 20 – 25 million shots per month," read a release from the company.
Dr. Danny Avula, Virginia's vaccine coordinator, said this federal pharmacy partnership program supports Virginia's focus on getting more shots to more people more quickly.
“To have every channel possible to get the vaccine out into the community, we’re going to rely heavily on our health departments and hospital systems, but also on our private providers and pharmacies," Dr. Avula told 13News Now.
This is the second part of the federal pharmacy partnership, the first being vaccinations at long-term care facilities and nursing homes.
The Virginia Department of Health has not said if other pharmacies will provide vaccinations in the coming weeks. Walgreens said it’s providing shots across 15 states, but Virginia is not one of those states listed.