Residents of Northern Virginia age 65 and older who have registered for COVID-19 vaccines with their local health departments but want to try to obtain vaccines through CVS’s program that begins this week must register with CVS separately, Virginia health department officials announced on Tuesday.
News outlets have reported that the Virginia Department of Health spent the past several days working with CVS to try to upload the names of residents who have registered with the department to the CVS database. However, technical issues prevented that, said Dr. Danny Avula, who is leading the state’s vaccination efforts.
The state asked CVS to open its website early so local health department employees could book appointments for Virginians already on the their registration lists, but CVS could not limit access to the site. That meant that residents all over the Commonwealth bombarded the CVS appointment website when it opened Tuesday, and all appointments available through the site were quickly filled. Earlier news reports had said that CVS had pushed back the start date of COVID-19 vaccinations at select Virginia stores to Friday, Feb. 12, with appointment scheduling beginning on Feb. 11. More guidance would be needed from official sources to clear up these reported inconsistencies.
Dr. Avula emphasized that the CVS vaccinations are available only for residents age 65 and older and that those who did make appointments should be prepared to show identification to prove their age. He said the state specifically asked CVS not to offer appointments to residents under the age of 65 with underlying health conditions, because the older residents are most susceptible to hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
CVS expects to administer 26,000 doses a week in the state, and additional appointments will become available through the CVS web site in coming days, according to news reports. The retailer initially identified 28 locations for the vaccines, none of which was in Northern Virginia, but has since added new locations, including some in Northern Virginia.
When residents go to the CVS site to make an appointment, they will see a list of available vaccination sites nearby. CVS has stated its intention to add additional locations when more vaccine doses become available. These vaccines are administered by CVS at no cost with insurance or through federal programs for the uninsured.
The failure of the CVS system to link with Virginia’s registration system also means that local health departments may try to schedule vaccine appointments for residents on their list who have already scheduled a vaccination through CVS. The information about their CVS vaccination wouldn’t be uploaded into the state’s system until after they are vaccinated.
The 26,000 doses a week administered by CVS represent a 20% increase in the amount of vaccines available statewide.
Sources reports that other Virginia retailers are expected to begin their own vaccination programs in the coming weeks, including Walgreens, Walmart and major grocery chains.