Governor Northam approves Covid-19 plan for Virginia

CHANTILLY, Va. (WDVM)– As COVID-19 continues to spread within the Commonwealth, Governor Ralph Northam is working out how to safely distribute a vaccine.

Federal officials said upcoming COVID-19 vaccine distribution will be managed by the nation’s Governors. As Virginians continue to fight the pandemic Northam said residents have to remain vigilant.

“We’ve been working on how to distribute this vaccination safely and equitably for a few months now and we have different phases that we’ll use following the CDC guideline of who the first ones are that will receive the vaccination,” Northam said.

Logistically the vaccines will have to be kept at a cold temperature according to Northam. He says there are freezers set up throughout Virginia.

“It’s going to be very important in messaging that people are comfortable. Not only in Virginia but across this country that this vaccination is safe and effective” said Northam.

According to Northam, the state is looking at 70,000 initial doses. Health care workers and those working in long-term care facilities will receive the first vaccines, then front line workers such as teachers and food service workers. However, the governor’s biggest concern is gaining trust.

“In order to, you know, have people either tested or vaccinated they have to trust what we’re doing. We’re going to pay a lot of attention to that as we move forward because it is an equity issue, and we want to make sure everybody has access to the vaccination” said Northam.

The goal in phase three is to have the general population vaccinated by early to midsummer. Officials said Virginians who have already recovered from COVID-19 would still require the vaccination to be safe.