A Message from
Williamsburg City Manager Andrew Trivette
James City County Administrator Scott Stevens
York County Administrator Neil Morgan
Newport News City Manager Cindy Rohlf
Hampton City Manager Mary Bunting
Poquoson City Manager Randy Wheeler
Over the last few weeks, the six localities of the Peninsula have been working cooperatively to address the region's vaccination needs. This collaboration has allowed closer relationships with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the regional health systems of Riverside and Sentara. The effort has focused on establishing vaccination clinics capable of serving large numbers of people each operational day once enough supply is made available. We have made progress using this joint strategy.
Three clinic locations have been established to serve the Peninsula. These locations include:
- Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center – City of Williamsburg and James City County
- Hampton Roads Convention Center – City of Hampton and the City of Poquoson
- Christopher Newport University – City of Newport News and York County (NOTE: This location is a temporary site for vaccinating public service essential personnel; officials are evaluating additional sites for public vaccination.)
This week Sentara provided the initial doses for these three clinics to administer vaccines to teachers, essential local government personnel, court, and jail staff. This work will continue into next week. These clinics are not yet open to the public and cannot provide a vaccine to you. Please allow the workers at these sites to work without interruption. We will announce details when the sites open for public vaccination.
These clinics are set up to administer more than 1,000 vaccines each eight-hour operating period, made possible by using existing medical staff, including school nurses, from each locality to serve as vaccinators. However, these clinics are currently limited by the amount of vaccine available. The three clinics are supplemental to the efforts from VDH, which plans to open smaller clinics on the Peninsula.
Much work remains before these clinics can serve the general public. Over the next few weeks, we will continue our partnership with VDH and health systems to identify a consistent flow of vaccines for the three clinic sites. Once it is available, we will use the VDH scheduling system, which is essential for the public to schedule vaccination appointments.
Though this is not an announcement that mass vaccinations are now available for Peninsula residents, it is a step in that direction. We continue to ask for your partnership and patience as we improve on the vaccine delivery system. Thank you for your continued partnership in this extraordinary effort.
Media Contacts
James City County: Renee Dallman (757) 272-3337
City of Williamsburg: Nicole Trifone (757) 707-0478
York County: Gail Whittaker (757) 817-2665
City of Newport News: Kim Lee (757) 508-2782
City of Hampton: Robin McCormick (757) 722-6719
City of Poquoson: (757) 868-3000