A new group of virgins who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination in Virginia is just around the corner.

Starting Monday, parts of the community will enter Phase 1B of its vaccination plan. This opens the COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 75 and for workers in essential, high-contact professions, including:

• First responders, including police officers, firefighters and hazmat workers
• Workers in correctional facilities or shelters for the homeless
• Teachers and childcare workers
• Employed in the food industry and agriculture
• Grocery store workers
• Public transport employees
• Mail carriers, which includes both the United States Postal Service and private postal services

“We want to be effective and have a large number of vaccinations,” said Dr. Noelle Bissell, director of health at New River Valley. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a long tunnel, so don’t get excited yet.”

Although the list of people able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine is relatively exclusive, Bissell hopes to open it to everyone as soon as possible.

“Our goal is, hopefully, by the end of spring, we can vaccinate everyone, or at least during the summer,” Bissell said. “This is a real-time thing; it’s incredible that the vaccine is launched so quickly. “

The new vaccinations come amid a wave of COVID-19 cases in Virginia. The state recorded more than 5,000 cases each day in the past five days, including a record 5,789 cases on Saturday.

“The vaccine is more important than ever at this time,” Bissell said. “If we can pause the transmission, that’s where we’ll see the end of the pandemic.”

More information about the New River Valley vaccination plan is available at this link.