Bryan said COVID-19 vaccines would open to all residents on March 1

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said on Feb. 22, 2021, that the U.S. Virgin Islands would open COVID-19 vaccinations to all residents beginning March 1 through community vaccination centers in each district.

The St. Thomas-St. John district site was set to open at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center, and the St. Croix site at UVI’s Great Hall.

During the Government House briefing, Bryan said more than 12,000 Virgin Islanders had received one of the two available vaccines. The government reported that 12,869 first doses and 5,622 second doses had been administered, for a total of 18,491 doses.

Officials said the vaccination centers would be supported by the Health Department, VITEMA, the Virgin Islands National Guard, the U.S. Department of Defense and FEMA. FEMA Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer Chris Allen said FEMA was providing equipment and supplies for the two centers and had coordinated a mission assignment with the Defense Department to support Health Department operations.

Bryan also said the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue would mail a second batch of 10,000 stimulus checks totaling $9 million during the week of Feb. 22, 2021. Residents who had not filed a 2019 income tax return were given until March 15, 2021, to do so to qualify for a stimulus payment.

Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion said people were considered fully immunized two weeks after completing the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. She said a positive COVID-19 antibody test could be used to satisfy U.S. Virgin Islands travel entry requirements within four months of the test as an alternative to a negative PCR or antigen result.

The government also reported 89 active COVID-19 cases, 2,579 positive tests, 2,465 recoveries and 25 deaths. One COVID-19 patient was hospitalized at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas, according to the briefing.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-announces-covid-19-vaccines-to-be-made-available-to-general-population/