DANVILLE, Va. – Health officials are urging people to avoid trying to get the COVID vaccine by just showing up clinic without an appointment.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced Wednesday that only individuals who receive an appointment or invitation to attend a COVID vaccine clinic will be permitted inside to be vaccinated.
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VDH says Community Vaccination Centers (CVC) are only intended for those eligible to be vaccinated in the Phase 1 group in Virginia.
This move comes after word spread to other college campuses regarding a CVC run by VDEM at the Danville Mall. According to city officials, people heard the vaccine clinic was accepting walk-ins due to a perceived oversupply of the vaccine.
VDEM worked to accommodate those who traveled to Danville without an appointment or invitation but said it would change starting Thursday due to a lack of vaccine.
Danville City Manager Ken Larkin said those who travel to Danville without an appointment risk being turned away.
“We are discouraging people from just showing up,” said Larking. “The State has adjusted the supply of vaccines in Danville to match the Phase 1 demand in our area, so there is a good chance people traveling to Danville from outside our area for a vaccine will not get a shot.”
The city also gained some social media attention because of the vaccine clinic as Danville was trending on Twitter Thursday night.
Here are a few tweets that were found in the Danville trending tab:
unless you can show me sources from the Danville site, VDH, or FEMA saying non-high risk people should flock to an underserved region for the vaccine without appointments, I don’t wanna hear about it!!!
— Summer Harvey 👩🏼💻 (@sumvhar) March 23, 2021
uva students rolling up to the abandoned jcpenney in danville pic.twitter.com/K6453wUTTY
— Jakob H. Cansler (@jhcansler) March 22, 2021
Those who have been invited to a vaccine clinic should follow these VDH guidelines:
- Plan to arrive no earlier than 20 minutes prior to your appointment time. You will not be allowed in early to receive your vaccine.
- No walk-ins are going to be accepted at this time because everyone must preregister to be contacted for an appointment.
- Bring a copy of your invitation (by email, text or barcode) or other proof of your name upon arrival.
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