Thank you to those who have reached out to your local health district to ensure your office is accounted for in plans to distribute the vaccine in your area. We have heard from many members about long wait times and waiting for returned messages and phone calls. Thank you for your patience. We are working with the Medical Society of Virginia and others to push for more clarity and uniformity in how health districts approach this process. 

The VDA has been in regular contact with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and individual health districts to facilitate communications to members, and we are working with them to provide more information directly to dentists. We have a few updates to share with members, and will continue to update you as we get more information:

• Please keep in mind that the first doses of the vaccine are going to healthcare workers directly working with COVID-19 patients and distributed by the hospital systems. Health Districts are expected to begin receiving the vaccine next week (week of January 4th). 

• Dentists, hygienists, and dental assistants are prioritized for access as phase 1A healthcare workers. Phase 1A is still in its initial stage. As of Dec. 28, Virginia has administered 41,709 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

• We have heard that health department staff are working to respond to all of the messages and calls that dentists and other healthcare workers left over the last week. If any additional action is needed from your office that isn’t directly communicated from the health district, we will share it with members as an update. 

• There may be regional differences in how the vaccine is distributed -- the VDA will continue to be in close contact with VDH and let members in individual health districts know as we learn more about their process for distribution.  .

FAQs

Some members have questions about vaccination for their offices and whether employers can require vaccinations. On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published new guidance addressing the effect of federal employment discrimination laws on employer-mandated vaccination for COVID-19. Hancock, Daniel & Johnson, P.C. has published a client advisory for educational purposes to help explain that guidance for employers. 

If you haven’t yet done so, you can begin the process for receiving the vaccine and learn more about local plans for distribution by contacting your local health district and letting them know how many individuals in your office meet the CDC criteria for “persons serving in healthcare settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials,” including dentists, hygienists and dental assistants. They are dealing with a high volume of calls and incoming messages at the moment and you may not receive an immediate response. 

We will provide more updates as they become available and continue working with the VDH and local Health Districts to provide clarity on the vaccine distribution plan for dental offices. 

To make sure you don’t miss important updates, sign up for text alerts here or by texting “VDA” to 52886.