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Virginia Beach — Virginia Beach’s mayor says the COVID-19 vaccine is not being distributed fast enough and the state’s coordination efforts have been “extremely frustrating and disappointing.”
On Wednesday, Mayor Bobby Dyer wrote a letter to Gov. Ralph Northam asking him to fix the issues that are slowing the process.
Dyer said the city has received little information about the plan for distributing the rest of the vaccines, and the Health Department has failed to answer direct questions about the number of vaccinations available.
“We need to know the specifics on vaccine supply,” Dyer said. “It is ambiguous and we need clarity. We really have to kick this whole operation into high gear.”
In his letter, he cited several issues with the vaccine rollout: lack of Health Department staffing, an insufficient supply chain and inconsistencies in the distribution process. In an interview Thursday, Dyer did not expound upon those complaints.
Alena Yarmosky, a spokesperson for Gov. Northam, did not answer questions about the specific complaints in Dyer’s letter, but said in an email that the governor’s office would try to help Virginia Beach speed up the vaccination process.
“We understand the people of Virginia Beach are frustrated that only health care workers are eligible for vaccination, given that Virginia’s largest city has not yet been able to move into the priority group 1b,” Yarmosky said. “… (The governor) will continue to do everything necessary to support Virginia Beach and speed up their process.”
Dyer concluded his letter by suggesting that Virginia Beach be granted “independent responsibility” for the vaccine rollout in the city.
Virginia Beach Councilman Jim Wood said the city has the ability to operate a vaccine clinic 24/7, but needs the state to provide the vaccines and approve the vaccinators. Virginia Beach opened a vaccination clinic at an EMS station last week, which has since moved to the Virginia Beach Convention Center. He said the state health department’s rollout of the vaccine has been abysmal in the city.
“We don’t know what is going on,” Wood said. “We are extremely frustrated. We need a logistics person to get this vaccine to our people.”
So far, Hampton Roads has been vaccinating front-line health care workers, emergency medical technicians and nursing home residents and staff. No cities in Hampton Roads have been approved to move to Phase 1b, although Chesapeake has begun vaccinating public schools’ teachers and staff.
Dyer is eager to move to the next phase, which more than a dozen localities have.
Yarmosky said Northam expects all cities to move into Phase 1b by the end of the month and each health district can enter the next phase when ready.
Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s new COVID vaccine coordinator, said he was appointed last week to figure out how to get the vaccine out across the state. He said he understands people are eager to get the vaccine.
“The reality is the public health infrastructure has been spread incredibly thin,” Avula said. “This is literally the largest and most complex challenge that we collectively — certainly as a health department, but really as a society — we have ever faced. My plea is that people recognize that.”
In an interview on Friday afternoon, Dyer said he hoped the city would get more information during a 4 p.m. Friday meeting involving the city manager, other local leaders and Avula.
During that meeting, local leaders planned to develop a COVID-19 vaccination plan for Hampton Roads, according to a Tuesday letter sent by Hampton City Manager Mary Bunting and Southhampton County Administrator Michael Johnson on behalf of all 17 city managers and county administrators in the Hampton Roads region.
Their letter asked if supply chain issues exist. Bunting and Johnson wrote that the region is willing to help the vaccination process by providing trained medical staff to administer vaccines but cities are waiting for the Health Department to sign agreements to allow them to.
They asked the state to begin releasing data by health districts on how many people have been vaccinated and the number of approved vaccinators available.
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“We are particularly concerned that more well-funded districts appear to be making faster progress than those with fewer resources,” the letter from Hampton Roads managers said. “We are concerned about social equity impacts if this is indeed the case.”
After the meeting, Avula said they worked through the issues presented and he planned to work together with local officials in Hampton Roads to distribute the vaccine.
“It is a challenging situation to have such demand with such scarce resource,” Avula said. “Our charge is to build the infrastructure to make sure there are as many pathways as possible for people to get vaccinated.”
Virginia Beach Councilwoman Barbara Henley said during Tuesday’s council meeting that the city needs to do whatever possible to prioritize vaccination distribution. Next week’s council agenda now includes dedicating $1.5 million to the city’s vaccination initiative.
Henley said she wants to know why other areas are proceeding to Phase 1b while Virginia Beach is lagging behind.
“To say we are going to get to 1b in one or two weeks is just not acceptable,” Henley said. “We are not doing a very good job and it is just not acceptable.”
Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.