NORFOLK, Va. — The push to vaccinate Virginia is slowing down. According to VDH, an average of 48,000 shots are administered each day.
At the beginning of April, the state's daily average was 85,000. With fewer people lining up to get the vaccine, clinics are closing down across Virginia and right here in our area.
The site at the Williamsburg Visitor Center has shut down. On Saturday, the FEMA clinic at Portsmouth's Sportsplex will also shut down. FEMA is also leaving Norfolk's Military Circle Mall location.
“To see people’s lives that we touched as patients is pretty amazing,” explained FEMA’s Military Circle Mall Clinic Site Manager, Auvergene Larry.
For the past eight weeks, tens of thousands of people came to the FEMA clinic to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I cannot believe it is over,” explained Larry.
Larry said officials expected to vaccinate 3,000 people every day against COVID-19.
She said, “We never met that mark. We were averaging between 1,500 and 2,000 a day.”
FEMA did leave a mark on this community. On Thursday, it reached 80,000 vaccinations.
“The total we should have done was 160,000 so we ended... we have not ended yet, but yesterday we did 80,000 which is still good because again, it’s about saving lives,” Larry explained.
Larry said thousands of those people who got a COVID-19 vaccine are underserved, low-income, and have a disability.
She said, “I was just happy to reach 30 percent of that population, but the fact that we were able to increase it by 66 percent within 30 days is amazing.”
While FEMA is leaving, Larry said she’s thankful she could play a part in vaccinating the Hampton Roads community.
“I think it’s going to be bittersweet, because we have done something here that’s been pretty amazing,” Larry said.
You do not need an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the FEMA Clinic at Military Circle Mall. The clinic closes at 7 on Friday and will reopen Saturday morning. The hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Norfolk Health Department will take over the Military Circle Clinic after FEMA leaves. They will only offer second dose vaccines for people who received their first shot at the FEMA clinic.
Norfolk city leaders said the Virginia Department of Health, along with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the City of Norfolk will continue to administer second doses of the Pfizer vaccine at various clinics in the Hampton Roads area.
Vaccines are available at Norfolk Health Department located at 830 Southampton Avenue.
Any resident who would like to get vaccinated at a local health department can find details on locations and availability at vaccinate.virginia.gov, or residents can go to the Vaccine Finder at www.vaccines.gov.