Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico County are holding large-scale vaccination events on March 6, 8, 10 (Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday) for pre-registered seniors (sixty-five and up). Up to 12,000 seniors are expected to be vaccinated at these three events.
Pfizer vaccines will be offered on March 6 and 10 and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be offered on March 8th. Like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective. All three vaccines are extremely effective at preventing hospitalization or death from COVID-19.
“It is more important now than ever for pre-registered Richmond and Henrico seniors to check their email and answer their phone,” says Amy Popovich. “This event will vaccinate the majority of the seniors on our pre-registration list.”
Many seniors who provided email addresses will be contacted today through Friday. Emails will come from the CDC’s VAMS with the domain envelope.mail.vams.cdc.gov. Seniors should check their email one to three times per day today through Friday. Seniors should look in all their email folders (including spam, promotions, etc.) for the e-mail. Directions to register will be included in the email.
Seniors, particularly those who did not leave an email address when they pre-registered, may also be called. Calls will be made this week between March 3-5 (Wed-Friday) from 8:00am to 5:00pm. The calls will come from a variety of numbers and may be listed as a “spam call” on your phone. Messages will not be left and the health district representative are not taking callbacks, but will reach out to seniors multiple times.
To avoid a scam, seniors should:
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Make sure the e-mail comes from the domain envelope.mail.vams.cdc.gov before clicking on any links
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Hang up the phone or delete the e-mail if they are asked for any form of payment, social security number, or insurance ID numbers
Individuals interested in receiving a vaccine should fill out a pre-registration form at vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA if they have not done so already. Seniors not contacted this weekend can expect to be contacted for other events in the coming weeks.
To get in contact with the health districts, please call 804-205-3501 M-Fr from 8:00am-5:00pm or e-mail RHHDvax@vdh.virginia.gov.
About Richmond and Henrico Health Districts: RCHD and HCHD are sister public health agencies serving Richmond’s and Henrico’s communities. Our mission is to expose and address the root causes of health disparities, protect health by preventing the spread of disease, and build health equity by partnering with communities and working collaboratively across sectors.
[Kate Thompson photo]