CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Chesterfield vaccine clinic that has administered more than 20,000 COVID-19 vaccines is shutting down due to a decline in demand.
The clinic at Rockwood Square Shopping Center off of Hull Street Road has served as a vaccine point for the health district in two waves. It was first set up as a local clinic last summer before it turned into a community vaccination center.
Organizers said a combination of factors led to their decision to close down the clinic Saturday.
One of the factors was the multiple options to get the vaccine at places like pharmacies and doctor's offices.
Additionally, fewer people have visited the vaccination clinic in Chesterfield, which has the capacity for several hundred people a day but was down to just a few dozen people over the last several days.
Another factor is vaccination rates in the health district, which include Chesterfield and Powhatan Counties and the city of Colonial Heights. 67% of the population is fully vaccinated, compared to the statewide average of nearly 72%.
The district's local health emergency coordinator David Woods said the people who were running the site will be reallocated to other efforts.
"The CVC, the contractors that operate that, they've had a couple of mobile units already that have been operating in the central region of Virginia and now they can just feel those a little bit more, with greater capacity, given the freeing up of the assets at Rockwood," Woods said.
Woods said they continue to encourage anyone who isn't vaccinated or eligible for a booster to get it, adding while this community vaccination clinic is closing, the one at the Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond will continue to run for the foreseeable future.
