BLACKSBURG, Va. – The next step of COVID-19 vaccination is quickly approaching in the New River Valley.
New River Valley Health Director Dr. Noelle Bissell expects to move the district, which covers Montgomery, Floyd, Pulaski and Giles County, as well as the city of Radford, into Phase 1c of vaccinations next week.
Bissell estimates that more than 50,000 people in the New River Valley will qualify for the vaccine in the next phase.
[COVID vaccine Phase 1c starting this week in parts of Virginia with everyone there by mid-April]
Phase 1c includes university staff and students, a big step in a district that includes both Virginia Tech and Radford University.
Bissell believes that everyone in this phase could be vaccinated by the end of April if supply keeps up with demand.
“We are starting to schedule our employee groups in 1C, which is a large population in the New River Valley,” Bissell said. “We are expecting next week, we will see an increase in our vaccine supply, so we’re going to start scheduling our university and college communities.”
According to Bissell, more than 27,000 people in the New River Valley Health District are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. the equivalent of 15% of the health district’s total population.