All people 16 and older in Virginia will be eligible to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments starting on Sunday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday.

“With COVID-19 cases on the rise in many parts of Virginia and across the country, it is important that everyone has an opportunity to make a vaccination appointment,” Northam said in a statement. “If you are over 16 and want to get the safe, effective, and free vaccine, please make a plan to get your shot.”

The way Virginians who fall under Phase 2 — basically, anyone who didn’t qualify for a shot earlier because of age, medical conditions, or essential worker status — will register and book vaccine appointments will change, too.

In February, the Virginia Department of Health put in place a statewide pre-registration system, centralizing what had been a patchwork of county-run pre-registration sites.

Now, as Virginia moves into Phase 2, it will direct people to look for and schedule available appointments on VaccineFinder.org, a Centers For Disease Control and Prevention website that shows users a map of available appointments pulled from public health providers, hospitals, medical practices, pharmacies, and more.

Fairfax County, which ran its own separate pre-registration system, will also direct residents to VaccineFinder.org. A press release from the county notes the site is “not currently available in other languages, but users can change their web browser settings to their desired language as an alternative.”

Northam’s announcement cautions that there may still be delays in finding and booking appointments, given the influx of newly eligible people.

“Virginians seeking an opportunity to get vaccinated may have to wait for an appointment, as demand for vaccination is expected to continue to outpace supply in many parts of the Commonwealth,” the release said.

People eligible under Virginia’s Phase 1 who are struggling to find an appointment through the VaccineFinder tool will be able to use the old system — vaccinate.virginia.gov or 877-VAX-IN-VA — to register for a priority appointment.

More than 3.3 million people have received at least one dose in Virginia, or almost 39% of the commonwealth’s population. Officials expect anyone in Virginia who wants a vaccine will be able to get a first dose by the end of May at the latest.

The move to Phase 2 comes just days after Virginia paused its use of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, after the federal government said it needed time to review six extremely rare cases of blood clots in recipients of the shot. State vaccine coordinator Danny Avula said in a press conference on Tuesday that the pause had affected about 72,000 vaccine appointments this week and next week. Overall, the Johnson & Johnson shot accounted for about 15% of the commonwealth’s supply this week.

“This will not impact our ability to move into Phase 2,” Avula said, noting that many health districts in the state had already moved into Phase 2 when the pause was announced. “What it will do is just slow down the progress through Phase 2. We will not be able to have quite as many appointments available for first doses next week and beyond until we have more news about if we can start using Johnson & Johnson again.”

Avula said that health districts already in Phase 2 had reported less vaccine demand than initially expected, meaning that everyone who wants a vaccine may be able to get one even before the end of May deadline — “not necessarily good news through the lens of herd immunity,” Avula said.

I really think it just means there’s less low-hanging fruit than we otherwise thought, and getting more
people vaccinated is going to take much more of a ground game,” he said.

Maryland and the District have already started making vaccinations available to the general public.