Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s office says there are no plans to mandate any COVID-19 vaccine in the commonwealth.
State health officials are finalizing plans to distribute a vaccine, once approved and ready.
“We’ve established a vaccine unit within VDH’s unified command. We also have some vaccine advisory groups which help consult and review data on safety, efficacy and operational decisions,” Virginia Department of Health Deputy Commissioner for Population Health Dr. Laurie Forlano said.
With guidance now out from a CDC advisory panel, health care workers and nursing home residents will get first priority for a coronavirus vaccine in Virginia. The state will follow the CDC’s prioritization recommendations. The supply will be limited at first.
“CDC will begin to allocate vaccine to states based on population. So Virginia will get about 2.6% of the nationwide allocation,” Dr. Forlano said.
He also “had no plans” for a mask mandate either, but here we are