Many area residents receive link for COVID vaccine by mistake; registrations cancelled

Vaccination event at Richmond Raceway intended for public school, public safety employees

Several thousand registrations for an upcoming COVID-19 vaccination event at Richmond Raceway have been cancelled after individuals not eligible for the event received an online signup link in error and used it to register.

The signup link was intended for use only by public school and public safety employees from Goochland, Hanover and Henrico counties and the City of Richmond — employees who are in the top three front-facing worker groups designated by the Virginia Department of Health for vaccination in Phase 1B.  Although the Virginia Department of Health is sponsoring numerous public vaccination clinics, this event was not intended for the general public.

More than 55 percent of the registrations — about 6,000 — came from individuals who were not part of these priority groups but had received the signup link in error. The number of inadvertent registrations exceeded the amount of available vaccine and would have excluded many public school and public safety employees from receiving their priority vaccinations, said Tony McDowell, Henrico’s deputy county manager for public safety.

“Unfortunately, many residents in central Virginia who are not part of these priority vaccination groups received the registration link by mistake,” McDowell said. “We regret this error and any inconvenience or confusion it has caused for our residents.

“We are working to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to our community as safely and quickly as possible, in accordance with the Phase 1B priority-group protocols established by the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC,” he said. “We are grateful for everyone’s patience as we continue to work to protect the health and well-being of our community.”

Public school and public safety agencies from Goochland, Hanover, Henrico and Richmond will confirm and be in contact with their employees who registered through the signup link. Chesterfield public school and public safety employees should continue with existing plans to vaccinate through specific Chesterfield events.  

Other individuals in Phase 1B, such as older residents and those with certain pre-existing health conditions, are also a high priority, McDowell said. Information on registration for additional vaccination events for other individuals included in Phase 1B will be provided by local health departments; please see below for contact information.

Henrico or Richmond:
[email protected]
(804) 205-3501
henrico.us/health & rchd.com

Chesterfield: 
[email protected] 
(804) 318-8207
www.vdh.virginia.gov/chesterfield/

Chickahominy Health District (Goochland, New Kent, Hanover, and Charles City):
[email protected]
(804) 365-3340
www.vdh.virginia.gov/chickahominy/

 
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