By Tim Mastro

DOVER — About 2,500 Delaware child care providers will have the opportunity to be vaccinated this Saturday through a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination event at Dover International Speedway.

It will be an invitation-only event. A registration link was sent to child care providers Thursday morning. Anyone seeking vaccination through this event must provide proof of active employment in a licensed Delaware child care center or home.

The event is a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services, Delaware Emergency Management Agency, Delaware Division of Public Health, Delaware Department of Education and the Dover International Speedway.

Those vaccinated Saturday at the drive-thru event will receive their second doses through a similar event when their second dose is due, according to state officials.

“Delaware’s child care providers have been vital to our state, our families, and our children throughout this pandemic, staying open to provide care to our children so other frontline workers could serve our state,” said Gov. John Carney in a statement. “We are grateful for their work and are pleased we can vaccinate them so they can continue to serve our youngest learners.”

In other COVID-19 vaccine news, Walgreens reported doubling its allocation of COVID-19 vaccines as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

Eligible Delawareans are able to schedule their appointments online and find a list of participating Walgreens locations to receive their vaccine at Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine or by calling 1-800-WALGREENS. Appointments are required in order to receive a vaccine, and walk-ins are not accepted.

Statewide, 227,520 doses of vaccine have been delivered to Delaware, plus an additional 43,705 doses through the Federal Pharmacy Program, for an all-time total of 271,225. This includes a new shipment the state reported receiving on Wednesday of 12,990 doses.

As of Wednesday at 11:59 p.m., Delaware has administered 196,089 doses of vaccine with 75,136 doses remaining.

Meanwhile, the state’s COVID-19 statistics have continued their downward trend over the past month.

The number of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in Delaware is down to its lowest total since mid-November, after dropping by 18 compared to the day prior. The DPH is reporting 164 COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Wednesday at 6 p.m. — the best mark since Nov. 17.

Delaware’s seven-day rolling average of percentage of positive tests is at the World Health Organizations recommended mark of 5%. That figure is as of Monday at 6 p.m., due to a two-day lag to account for the time delay between the date of the test and the date the DPH receives the test result.

There have been a total of 85,801 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,406 COVID-19-related deaths. The DPH reported four newly announced deaths Thursday — two from Kent County, one from Sussex County and another from New Castle County.

The four most recent deaths ranged in age from 70 years old to 83 years old. None were a resident of a long-term care center.