| Delaware News Journal
How was the pandemic for you? We want to hear from you
We would like your input on a story we are doing about COVID-19. Reporter Meredith Newman explains.
Meredith Newman, Delaware News Journal
A six-day drive-through event at Dover International Speedway will offer second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to thousands of Delaware starting Saturday.
The highway meeting is only for people who received first doses at the next state-run meeting in mid-January.
- Dover DMV, January 16 to January 18
- Salesianum School, January 18
- Delaware City DMV, January 22 to January 24
- Georgetown DMV, January 23 to January 24
Registration for the event will open on Wednesday at 11:00 at de.gov/fema. Appointments will be made through a scheduling system created by the Public Health Division, not through the VAMS system of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those without internet access can call (833) 643-1715 to start an appointment from 11:00
The vaccination will last for six consecutive days and will present the vaccines Pfizer and Moderna.
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Residents who have received first doses outside of state-sponsored events are on their own booking a second appointment through a pharmacy, primary care office or other provider. Vaccinations can occur in different places, but the vaccine must come from the same manufacturer.
The Dover International Speedway Vaccination Event is run by the state in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to a press release from FEMA, it will be able to vaccinate 3,000 people daily.
To make an appointment, residents need the location and date of the state event they attended. Residents will be able to make an appointment for someone else after creating an email address so that one email address can be linked to multiple appointments.
Vaccinations will take place between 09:00 and 19:00 and will be planned within 15 minutes of windows. The state plans to schedule appointments for the first five days only and will open the sixth day as needed, according to the FEMA press release.
Earlier this month, Delaware focused its vaccine vaccination efforts on getting the second doses to the thousands of people who received their first doses during state-run drive-through events in January.
Last week, registration for the state’s initial two-dose event filled about three hours after opening, highlighting the demand for the state’s limited vaccine supply.
The events scheduled last week are being held on the campuses of Delaware Technical Community College in the state for residents who received first doses during the Dover DMV and Salesianum events. From Monday to Thursday, the events will vaccinate about 4,000 people. They only offer the Moderna vaccine.
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Last week, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Health said that the state does not allow everyone who needs a second dose to register for the second dose of events, because suppliers have an obligation to try to give a second dose themselves. .
“A provider of a first dose of the vaccine is obliged to try a second dose,” Public Health Spokeswoman Robin Bryson wrote in an email last week. “DPH has an obligation to provide a second dose to those who received their first dose of DPH, within the limits of supply and logistics. Supplies of second doses are allocated to other suppliers, as the offer allows the same to do.”
Last week, the director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, AJ Schall, said the state preferred to conduct events for the first and second doses separately, at least initially, to simplify the logistics of managing the events.
From Tuesday afternoon, Delaware administered 154,483 of the 162,050 doses (95%) he received.
The state’s vaccine detection does not provide information on second doses.
Delaware is in Phase 1B of its vaccination plan, which means health care workers, first responders, long-term care staff and residents and some essential workers at the front, as well as everyone 65 and older, are eligible for the vaccine.
Since moving to Phase 1B on Jan. 19, Delaware has focused on vaccinating people 65 and older. The group is responsible for 14% of COVID-19 cases in the state and 84% of COVID-19 deaths.
The prevalence of COVID-19 in Delaware has dropped over the past month. For the first time since November 26, less than 200 people were admitted to hospital on Monday with COVID-19.
Delaware set a record on January 12 with 474 hospitalizations.
Over the past week, Delaware averaged 318.1 cases per day, up more than 50% from a previous month.
What you need to prepare for the event
Only persons with appointments will be vaccinated during the Dover International Speedway event, the state says. Here’s what those with appointments need to prepare for.
- The vaccination can be obtained via Dover International Speedway’s entrance Leipsic Road, not the main entrance from Route 13.
- To reduce the wait, the state is appealing to those with appointments not to arrive more than an hour early.
- Comes with a full tank of gas.
- Bring personal identification (driver’s license or photo ID).
- Bring your vaccination card to prove when and where you received your first vaccination. If you have lost your vaccination card, please email your name and date of birth to [email protected] or call (833) 643-1715.
- Bring confirmation of your appointment.
- Come with snacks to wait in line.
Contact Brandon Holveck by [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.