Gov’t employees, seniors to be first in Prince William for coronavirus vaccine

Coronavirus vaccines will begin being distributed in Prince William County this month.

County employees most risk of contracting the disease, which includes fire and rescue personnel, paid and volunteer healthcare workers, and senior citizens in assisted living facilities, will be first to receive the vaccines, said Prince William Health District Director Dr. Alison Ansher.

Healthcare workers will get their vaccines directly from hospitals, like Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge and Novant/UVA Prince William Medical Center in Manassas.

Senior Citizens will be able to get theirs from a string of local pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.

The county is entering the first of a three-phase vaccination rollout, where officials will begin giving the vaccine in closed-off areas, with a tight available supply of the vaccine.

Virginia will receive a total of 480,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine in December. Much of it will be distributed across the state in waves, said Ansher.

While public health officials are ramping up to distribute the vaccine, they anticipate the process will have limitations.

“Let’s be honest. We don’t expect 100 percent of the population to get the vaccine,” said Ansher.

Those who get the vaccine won’t be immune to the disease on day one. Recipients will need to get to two vaccines to achieve a complete inoculation.

Afterward, it will take about two weeks before the body makes enough antibodies to fight off the coronavirus, said Ansher.

When it comes to declaring someone immune, or declaring that wearing a mask is no longer required, “We don’t know enough about the vaccine to know how long it takes,” the doctor added.

Pfizer’s vaccine, which must be diluted in order to be administered, was approved for use by the FDA on December 10. A second vaccine provided by Moderna, which must be stored in freezers, is expected to win FDA approval on December 17, said Ansher.

The Moderna and Phizer vaccines aim to prevent serious illness in those who contract the disease. Another vaccine that will come up for FDA approval, made by Astra-Zeneca, aims to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus disease altogether, Ansher adds.