By Tim Mastro

DOVER — As the state continues to work its way through its list of people eligible and still waiting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, it is prioritizing the list by data-based risk factors and determining some invitations by location, according to the Delaware Division of Public Health.

“The top of the list is older, sicker, more at-risk individuals,” said Robin Bryson, spokesperson for the DPH. “In that case, we invite from the top of the list a number of individuals based on the slots we have. For some events, we have taken a geographic approach, targeting specific areas from the waiting list where vaccination rates are lagging behind in order to attain balance in the proportions of vaccine distribution.”

The waiting list is only for individuals 65 years old and older, which is the current focus of the state’s Phase 1B distribution group. Seniors may sign up for the waiting list at vaccinerequest.delaware.gov.

Mr. Bryson said the DPH is regularly matching the waiting list to DelVAX, the state’s immunization information system, and marking off those who have been vaccinated elsewhere. That could be individuals who received shots through medical providers, pharmacies or any other source besides the state.

Once those vaccinations are entered by the vaccinator into DelVAX, they will be crossed off the waiting list.

However in some cases those matches might not be caught if the names are not entered the exact same way in DelVAX and the state’s waiting list.

“For example if your name is Joe and you have Joe on one list and Joseph on the other it may not match,” said DPH Director Dr. Rattay on Tuesday. “So you may still be receiving emails from us providing updates on vaccination. If you have been vaccinated, go ahead and ignore those updates.”

Dr. Rattay said Tuesday nearly 55% of seniors on the waiting list have yet to receive their first dose of vaccine. Of the estimated 128,000 senior citizens on the state’s waiting list, about 58,000 have received at least their first dose.

An additional 3,500 doses are being administered to those on the waiting list at sites in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown this week by one of the state’s partners, Curative Inc. The state also has sent appointment notifications to those on the waiting list for events on Saturday at Seaford High School and Sunday at the Delaware City Division of Motor Vehicles, using the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine — the first one-dose vaccine and the third overall COVID-19 vaccine. The state has been administering the Pfizer and Moderna products, which both require two doses of the vaccine.

“Little by little we are going to focus on tackling the individuals on this waiting list to provide opportunities for vaccination,” Dr. Rattay said.

More information on how Delawareans can sign up for vaccines is available at de.gov/getmyvaccine, including information on pharmacy and medical provider locations. Those without computer or internet access can call the COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at 1-833-643-1715.