By Tim Mastro

DOVER — The Delaware Division of Public Health contacted 11,500 seniors Thursday offering appointments for this weekend’s large-scale vaccination events in Delaware City and Georgetown, utilizing the DPH’s new registration system that was launched Wednesday.

Invitations for appointments were extended with the highest priority going to individuals with age and health conditions that put them at greater risk of COVID-19 incidence or mortality, according to DPH. A total of 73,630 individuals requested appointments as of Thursday at 3 p.m., and state leaders have said that roughly 200,000 Delawareans reare eligible for vaccination in the state’s current phase. That’s Phase 1B, which will focus heavily on vaccinating those 65 and older first.

The vaccination events are at Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles sites today, Saturday and Sunday in Delaware City and Saturday and Sunday in Georgetown. A total of 13,500 vaccinations are planned for the weekend as an additional 2,000 Phase 1A health care personnel who have appropriate documentation from their employer or DPH will be vaccinated only on Saturday and Sunday.

Any person without an appointment or appropriate documentation will be turned away, the DPH said.

The DPH added the emails issued Thursday to seniors who requested vaccination and met the higher-risk criteria came from VAMS, the Vaccine Administration Management System created by the Centers for Disease Control for use in multiple states. The email contains an individualized link and instructions.

According to the DPH, “Because it is a national system controlled by CDC that has been used in previous phases, the emails issued Thursday may say ‘Your organization or employer designated you in a priority group for vaccination’ even though people submitted their own requests. This is not a scam.”

Those who schedule an appointment receive a confirmation email with a QR code they can print or show on a mobile device at the vaccination event, eliminating the step of filling out an immunization reporting record form. This pre-submitted information will also expedite reporting to the DelVAX system used to track vaccinations, which has been experiencing reporting delays according to state officials.

Some seniors without computer access who utilized the DPH call center to make their request were called back Thursday to arrange the appointment if they met the risk criteria, the DPH said.

For those individuals still on the request waiting list, the DPH is issuing a reminder they must wait to receive an appointment invitation for a vaccination event listed in VAMS. A place on the waiting list does not a secure a spot for a vaccination anywhere else, such as pharmacies or medical providers that may be offering them.

Even after individuals have submitted their initial request in the state’s online system, if they do get an opportunity to receive a vaccine from their medical provider, employer or pharmacy, the DPH is advising them to take advantage of it.

“We are pleased that we will be able to focus on vaccinating thousands of our most vulnerable residents this weekend, and that we will be able to do so in an organized and efficient way,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay in a statement.

“For everyone else, we thank them for making requests and we are planning the ways to reach them in future weeks as more vaccine doses become available from the federal government.”

Vaccination guidelines

For those who have an appointment for one of the weekend vaccination clinics, the DPH is asking they follow the following guidelines:

• The events are by appointment only for persons 65 and older who received an invitation, or for Phase 1A health care personnel. Anyone without an appointment, or for health care workers, appropriate documentation, will be turned away from the event.
• Each person should bring their appointment confirmation with QR code or documentation of Phase 1A status, along with a photo ID.
• Attendees are reminded to dress in clothing so that their upper arm can be exposed, including not getting out of the vehicle at a drive-through event to remove a coat or shirt.
• Those who received a flu, shingles or other vaccination in the last 14 days, cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccine until 14 days have passed.

Registration updates

Some updates were made to the DPH’s new registration system Wednesday evening based on user feedback and questions, including indicators when users had not filled out required fields, and placing the requester’s first and last name in acknowledgment emails. The DPH added individuals who successfully submitted a request for vaccination should check their Spam or Junk folders for the automated confirmation email they will receive from the VAMS system.

Also on Thursday, a list of pharmacies and medical providers accepting public requests for vaccination was added to de.gov/covidvaccine. It is accessible by following the link “Find Where to Get Vaccinated.”

Vaccines available through pharmacies and medical providers are currently only for persons 65 and older. Pharmacies are asking those 65 and older to schedule an appointment using their online systems. They are not accepting appointment requests by walk-in or over the phone.

Over 54,000 doses

The state had administered 54,760 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday at 11:59 p.m., according to information in the state’s immunization reporting system DelVAX.

Reporting delays are starting to clear up, as that number is nearly 6,000 doses higher than what was reported one day prior. The Delaware Division of Public Health is reporting 1,527 doses were administered on Wednesday, the most recent day of available data.

Delaware received an additional 2,600 doses from the federal government on Wednesday after a shipment of 9,325 came in on Tuesday. The state had received a total of 89,525 doses as of Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. and has 34,765 remaining according to DelVAX.

The DPH states, “More doses have been administered than are showing up on the vaccine tracker. This is because of healthcare provider delays in reporting doses administered to DelVAX. Doses remaining, therefore, is likely to be lower than is shown.”

Since March 11, the state has recorded 72,523 positive cases of COVID-19 and 1,027 COVID-19-related deaths. As of Wednesday at 6 p.m., 448 are in Delaware hospitals with COVID-19, including 60 cases which are considered critical.