LYNCHBURG, Va. – City and health leaders in Lynchburg expanded vaccination distribution on Friday.
“What we are doing today is vaccinating 150 Lynchburg City School employees and 150 Lynchburg City employees who are eligible for vaccination under the phase 1B guidelines,” said Reid Wodicka, interim Lynchburg city manager.
That includes frontline, essential workers like those in law enforcement, sanitation and transportation.
Those 150 school employees were vaccinated at E.C. Glass High School, where officials held the news conference. Dr. Crystal Edwards, school superintendent, said LCS tiered the 800 employees interested in getting the vaccine.
“All those who are standing in front of our kids, transporting our kids, feeding our kids; those are the people we are prioritizing today,” said Edwards.
More vaccines are on the way for the Central Virginia Health District, which is made up of the Hill City and its surrounding counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell.
Dr. Kerry Gateley, the district’s health director, said the number of doses the region receives is based on population percentage.
“This is the new methodology that the Commonwealth has chosen for the distribution of vaccine. So, that comes out to 3,050 doses,” said Gateley.
That’s how many doses they’ll receive each week -- at least through February.
“Obviously that’s not nearly enough for me, not nearly enough for all of us because we want to vaccinate. We want to get this vaccine into arms,” said Gateley.
Officials said they’re planning to announce mass vaccination sites soon.