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Western Tidewater vaccine phone lines busy, but appointments are not full yet

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Keep calling if you get a busy tone while trying to sign up for Western Tidewater Health District’s upcoming vaccination event, officials say.

The local health department shared several numbers Thursday morning to sign up (the upcoming event on Feb. 10 is for those ages 65 and up), but local residents are frustrated they can’t get through.


The entire district is getting 1,000 doses.

Continue to call these numbers:

The vaccination event will be Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at East End Baptist Church, 1056 Portsmouth Boulevard, Suffolk, Va.

Around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Western Tidewater Health District Emergency Manager Will Drewery told 10 On Your Side the appointments allotted for Franklin and Southampton were full. He said appointments were still available in Suffolk and Isle of Wight.

Even if you live in a different area, you can sign up for the event through any of the numbers provided above.

Rural areas are seeing fewer doses now because Virginia is now allocating doses based on population, which led to Western Tidewater canceling two recent events due to “tremendously decreased” supply.

WAVY TV 10 reporter Andy Fox did a story on how places such as Western Tidewater are trying to work around that issue.

Have comments and concerns about the vaccine and the state’s rollout, email reportit@wavy.com for our “Dose of Clarity” segment. We’ll answer your questions on-air.