Virginia State Vaccination Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula briefed the COG Board of Directors on April 14 on the status of vaccine distribution in Virginia. He began by discussing the advisory on April 13 to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as CDC and FDA experts are reviewing data on a very small number of cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in people after receiving it. Avula noted that the single dose J&J vaccine was a key tool to help move through the population more quickly and the federal government now plans to increase allocation of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

As for vaccine demand, Avula said southwest Virginia has seen a large decrease while Northern Virginia continues to have high demand, which he expected will continue even as the next vaccination phase begins, and all adults become eligible. He said that although surveys are showing decreasing hesitancy to get vaccinated as the population is reassured about its purpose and benefits, jurisdictions will still need to ensure open communication with residents to reach those higher-risk communities.

“Our distribution of vaccine by race and ethnicity is a little bit short of where we would want it to be if we were to be vaccinating everyone at the same representative rate,” said Avula who went on to say that jurisdictions are leveraging community vaccination centers, local community partnerships, and mobile clinics to help reach those underserved populations and increase access.