PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) - A mass-vaccination event will begin inoculating people against the coronavirus at a sports complex in the southeastern Virginia city of Portsmouth.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that the event begins Tuesday at the Portsmouth Sportsplex.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be assisting. And health officials say that the event will administer about 1,000 coronavirus vaccinations a day.
Portsmouth was one of three cities that health officials in Virginia selected to have a FEMA-run vaccination clinic. They were chosen based on their senior populations and proportion of Black and Latino residents. The area’s rate of hospitalizations and deaths also factored into the choosing of the site.
About 54% of Portsmouth residents are Black. But only 43% of doses there have gone to Black people. The percentages have drawn concern from public health officials who say that people of color are at higher risk of getting seriously ill and dying from COVID-19.
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