Mary Washington Hospital Among Facilities Receiving More Vaccines

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — As Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and other officials work to get more shots of the coronavirus vaccines into the arms of state residents, more doses of the vaccines are expected to begin arriving in coming days, the governor said Wednesday.

That includes area hospitals like Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, which has received 6,000 more doses of the vaccine this week, hospital officials said Wednesday. Dr. Mike McDermott, the president and CEO at Mary Washington, said Wednesday said the current vaccination operation at the facility allows more than 2,000 shots to be administered per day – an operation that McDermott said has led people to say, “runs smoother than a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru”.

At Mary Washington, more than 16,000 doses of the vaccines have been administered, more than half of which have been given out over the past week. McDermott said the hospital expects to administer 8,000 shots this week as the demand for vaccinations remains high across the state and region, he said.

At a news conference with Northam Wednesday, McDermott said the energy inside the vaccination clinics at Mary Washington has been palpable as doses are administered both to healthcare professionals and to those who qualify for the vaccinations as part of the Phase 1a and 1b priority groups.

Mary Washington has partnered with the Rappahannock Area Health District, where more than 30,000 residents who are part of the priority lists have already registered to receive the vaccines. Yet, despite the disparity that exists between those waiting for the vaccines and the doses currently available, McDermott said there is a satisfaction in providing the vaccines to local residents.

“You emerge (from vaccination sessions) filled with hope,” McDermott said Wednesday. “As we look back, it’s been a difficult year…but we’ve been resilient, we’ve adapted and we’ve endured.”

McDermott said that Virginia hospitals have already administered more than 318,000 shots of the vaccines to healthcare workers since mid-December. McDermott said that hospital vaccinations have increased by 35 percent over the past week.

Northam said at a news conference Wednesday that he has asked hospitals with doses they have not used yet to transfer them to other facilities that can use them immediately. He said by doing so, the number of vaccinations that can take place this week has already increased by 20 percent or 40,000 shots by Sunday. The additional shots are on top of the 175,000 shots that were already planned to be distributed this week, Northam said.

On Wednesday, Northam said that he has encouraged hospitals and other area health officials to continue to get shots in arms as quickly as they can as increased doses of the vaccines arrive. This comes at a time, Northam said, when residents are growing impatient as the number of people eligible to receive the vaccine far outnumber the doses that are available.

“I know you’re out of patience, and I am as well,” Northam said. “Everyone wants to get their shot now, and I get that."

Northam and other state officials have come under scrutiny with frustrated residents who have been told their wait to be vaccinated may be long as state officials wait for more doses to arrive at hospitals. Long-term care facilities and nursing homes have partnered with pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens to provide shots to employees and residents, but frustration remains high, which Northam acknowledged Wednesday.

Northam said Wednesday that he expects that the state will receive an increase of 16 percent more doses than the 105,000 weekly doses that it has been receiving in recent weeks. Still, he said that criticism of himself and other officials from weary Virginians is warranted.

“I feel the frustration out there. I also, as a medical provider, feel the urgency. We are doing everything we can to save lives and at the end of the day, as the governor of Virginia, I’m responsible. So the criticism is fair.”

He added: “I want all of you to know that I understand your frustration. I know you’re out of patience and I am as well. Everyone across the tired of the pandemic. We all want to put COVID behind us and get back to normal. We know the vaccines are the way out and everyone wants to get their shot now and I get that.”