WWBT: Henrico Co. administers 100,000th COVID-19 vaccine

WWBT, HANNAH EASON

More than two months after Henrico County began administering COVID-19 vaccines at the Richmond Raceway, the locality reached a new milestone: 100,000 shots administered.

Tom Leonard, Henrico resident and owner of Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market, received the 100,000th dose on Saturday.

“I’m very grateful to be here to have my second shot,” Leonard said. “I feel good about this.”

Leonard said he was fortunate that none of his Glen Allen employees got severely ill from the virus while keeping his store open during the pandemic.

“We’re pretty happy there’s a light at the end of the tunnel now,” Leonard said.

The occasion was celebrated by Henrico’s vaccine leadership and U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger who presented the farmers market owner with a plaque to commemorate how far the county has come.

“It’s really the community coming together to make sure that as many Virginians as possible can be vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible and that’s what we’re seeing here and the partnership between the County the raceway and every volunteer group in between is pretty extraordinary,” Spanberger said.

The regional vaccine site at the Richmond Raceway opened Jan. 19 through public and private partnerships with Westwood Pharmacy and the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts.

In January, a few thousand doses were administered each day by Henrico County Public School nurses. Volunteers and community efforts have bumped that number to 7,000 doses per day.

Since then, 77% of Henrico residents 65 and older have received at least one vaccine dose. Thousands of others have been fully vaccinated.

Jackson Baynard, director of emergency management for Henrico County, says the site is prepared to administer 10,000 vaccines per day if the supply is available.

“We’re incredibly proud of the work that led us to this moment,” Baynard said. “The ability to give 100,000 shots is only possible because of our public and private partnerships.”

“We’re pretty happy that there is a light at the end of the tunnel right now,” Leonard said.