CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) – CVS pharmacies started distributing COVID-19 vaccinations in certain stores across the commonwealth on Friday, including here in Hampton Roads.
It’s part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 vaccination and will provide Virginia with 26,000 additional vaccines, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
Those who are 65 and older within the Group 1B eligibility can sign up for appointments.
10 On Your Side caught up with several people who were able to get COVID-19 vaccine appointments at a CVS store in Chesapeake Friday.
“(It) felt great!” said Hampton resident HP Edmonds about getting the shot. “I feel good that I got it now. I feel a whole lot safer than I did when I came out here.”
Edmonds says his daughter-in-law had been looking to get him a shot for a while and when she heard that CVS was taking appointments, she signed him up.
“It’s been a process,” he explained.
Edmonds says there weren’t any CVS locations in Hampton that were taking appointments so he traveled to Chesapeake.
Bob Smith, who says he was given the option to choose between Norfolk and Chesapeake, chose the latter because it was closer to home.
“It was very fast, very easy. People were really attentive, very great, very good,” he said.
Unlike Edmonds, who was looking for a while to get a vaccine, Smith, who meets the youngest age qualification, says he wasn’t looking too hard for a vaccine, but decided to try after a coworker got vaccinated earlier this week.
“I said what does it hurt to check. I saw it on the news. I got in. I wasn’t really looking a lot. It went really quickly for me. I’m lucky,” he said.
For Smith, it took less than 48 hours to get registered and his first shot. He registered for his appointment Thursday morning.
“I signed on at 5 (am). I wake up early anyway. I signed on. I was shocked I was able to get in, get on,” he said.
It was the same experience for Bob and Sam Trader, who also registered around 5 a.m. on Thursday. Trader says he told a buddy to try and get an appointment, but all the spaces were filled by 6 a.m.
“I think WAVY 10 did a great job letting us know about CVS. That’s the first place we heard it and I went straight to the internet and started working it. It only took me a day and a half to get there, but I think that’s when it first opened up,” he said.
Trader says it took him a while to get the vaccination. He had difficulty getting one from his doctor’s office, the VA, and the Portsmouth Naval Hospital.
He says they couldn’t wait to get the shot because their neighbors recently tested positive for the coronavirus.
The husband and wife were excited they were finally able to get their first shot and are looking forward to doing things they’ve been waiting for.
“I’m ready to travel,” Sam Trader said. “I’m ready to get out of my cage.”
For Smith, he’s hoping the vaccine will allow him to go into work and see some of his children he hasn’t seen in months.
“I’m happy I got the first dose. I know it’s one step closer to being normal. I still know we have to wear masks, but I feel a lot better. I’m happy about it,” he said.
The vaccine recipients 10 On Your Side spoke with say when they registered for their first appointment, it also registered them for their second appointment in March.