Online scheduling is now available at Ballad Health’s community vaccination centers (CVCs) in Virginia and Tennessee. People eligible to receive the vaccine in Virginia include Commonwealth residents over the age of 65; healthcare workers; and, as of March 1, residents between the ages of 16-64 with chronic health conditions. Tennessee residents eligible to receive the vaccine include everyone over the age of 65 and healthcare workers.
“Our fight against COVID-19 has taken many different forms over the last year, but prevention and protection have always been front and center,” said Eric Deaton, Ballad Health’s chief operating officer. “We’re still advocating for infection prevention through masks and physical distancing, but vaccines are, most likely, the best chance we have to fully defeat this virus. Since the first vaccines became available in the Appalachian Highlands in December, we’ve been working together with our health departments to distribute these shots as widely, quickly and effectively as possible.
“Now that we have online scheduling in place, we’re taking a major step forward in reaching into our communities to help more people secure this potentially life-saving inoculation.”
The scheduling tool is available on the health system’s main webpage at www.balladhealth.org and its COVID-19 page at www.balladhealth.org/COVID19, as well as the Ballad Health mobile app on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. When registering, patients can select the site that’s most convenient – Ballad Health operates its CVCs in Norton and Abingdon, Virginia, and Kingsport and Elizabethton in Tennessee – and they must receive both doses at the same location.
Community members must bring a photo ID when they arrive at their vaccine appointments, and healthcare workers should bring their work ID badge. Second doses will be scheduled when patients check in, and everyone must be observed for at least 15 minutes after receiving the shot to monitor for any possible side effects.
To date, Ballad Health has provided more than 30,000 first-dose and 27,000 second-dose vaccines to its team members, physicians, volunteers and contract employees, as well as community healthcare workers and eligible members of the communities it serves.
Additionally, in continuing its ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus, Ballad Health still maintains a strong presence in testing, with six drive-through testing sites in the region. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms and believes they might have been exposed to COVID-19 is advised to call Ballad Health Nurse Connect at 833-822-5523. Community members can also schedule COVID-19 testing online by visiting www.balladhealth.org or through the Ballad Health mobile app.
COVID-19 news and updates will continue to be shared to www.balladhealth.org/COVID19.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, all Ballad Health facilities are taking crucial safety precautions, including visitation restrictions, enhanced physical distancing measures, increased infection control and new processes and systems to safeguard patients’ care journeys.
