109 Governor Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219 ● www.vdh.virginia.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
June 18, 2021

Media Contact:

Laura Lee Wight, public information officer, Central Shenandoah Health District, laura.wight@vdh.virginia.gov  

CENTRAL SHENANDOAH HEALTH DISTRICT HOSTS COMMUNITY INFORMATION TEAM TO PROMOTE COVID-19 VACCINES

(STAUNTON, Va.)  — The Virginia Department of Health’s Central Shenandoah Health District (CSHD), in coordination with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), has announced that the health district and localities will be hosting a Community Information Team starting June 22, 2021 [NOTE: The team will be in Buena Vista on June 30th]. The team’s mission is to support COVID-19 vaccine outreach efforts throughout the health district.

Outreach will include door-to-door canvassing in residential neighborhoods and at local businesses in Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Bath and Highland counties, and the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, Lexington and Buena Vista. The Community Information Team will provide health education, information about upcoming COVID-19 vaccine clinics and registration opportunities for specific clinics.

CSHD continues to work with local healthcare partners to provide walk-in vaccination clinics throughout the district. Appointments are also available. The Community Information Team, whose members will wear branded vests, will assist anyone who wishes to make a vaccine appointment.

“CSHD is excited to collaborate with VDEM and FEMA to increase access to information about the COVID-19 vaccine in our communities,” said Laura Kornegay, M.D., director, Central Shenandoah Health District.  “While we have come far in our vaccine rollout, we are in the final stretch where every vaccination counts. The Community Information Team is one strategy of many we are implementing to reach our goal of 70 percent of adults vaccinated against COVID-19.” Currently, 56.7 percent of the adult population in the Central Shenandoah Health district has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“FEMA Region 3 is excited to be a part of Virginia’s tremendous effort to get their citizens vaccinated,” said Kevin Snyder, Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA Region 3. “Over the past six months we have worked to support VDEM and VDH’s vaccination mission in a variety of ways, including more than $250 million in grant funding for vaccine projects across the Commonwealth and helping to run a Community Vaccination Center in Norfolk. Supporting CSHD’s canvassing efforts is a natural extension of this ongoing partnership with VDH and VDEM and we are eager to support the CSHD.”

CSHD encourages all eligible persons to get their COVID-19 vaccine if they haven’t already done so. To find a vaccination site near you, please visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or vaccinefinder.org. Learn more about the vaccine, its safety and answers to frequently asked questions at VDH’s website and CDC’s website.

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Team members will be in Buena Vista on Wednesday, June 30th. They will be going door-to-door, handing out flyers for clinics, asking if community members need any assistance with scheduling a clinic, and identifying community members who are homebound and would benefit from getting the vaccine in their home through a health department program. The team members will be wearing brightly colored vests to easily identify themselves.