Appointments to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a Charlottesville CVS store are set to open Thursday, with “shots in arm” beginning Friday.
Only individuals who are 65 and older, and have registered to receive a vaccine from the Blue Ridge Health District, may claim one of the CVS appointments, according to the health district. (“Registering” means the person has submitted the district’s online survey “expressing interest” in receiving a vaccine.)
As of Tuesday morning, the plan was for people who meet these requirements to register themselves for an appointment directly with CVS.
Those appointments are set to become available sometime Thursday, according to a CVS spokeswoman. The pharmacy won’t announce exactly when appointments will go live, but once they do, the spots will fill up on a first-come-first serve basis.
“It’s going to be difficult because we’re not getting a ton of doses right now,” said Amy Thibault, a spokeswoman for CVS. “So, those appointments are going to be gone within probably minutes.”
The chain is part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which is separate from states’ vaccination efforts.
The federal government has guaranteed CVS some 26,000 doses a week for its Virginia stores during February. The chain plans to offer the vaccine at stores in 36 Virginia localities. That means each store will have fewer than 1,000 doses a week.
The pharmacy hopes that by March they will receive a larger supply of vaccine from the federal government, Thibault said. Once that happens, they will begin offering them at other stores across the state.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
