Urgent: Volunteers Needed for COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign
December 11, 2020
Dear Colleague:
As part of your health profession license application or renewal, you indicated the willingness to volunteer in a public health emergency. Thank you for that commitment. The upcoming COVID‑19 vaccination campaign will require a robust vaccination workforce. To become a part of that workforce, you must register with the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).
As an MRC COVID vaccine volunteer, you will serve in your own community when you are available. MRC volunteers have liability protection through the Commonwealth (https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/mrc/legal/). In addition to providing the COVID-19 vaccine, an MRC emergency volunteer also has the opportunity to participate in other vital missions. Since February, MRC volunteers have worked over 110,000 hours in support of COVID-19 testing, outbreak investigation, contact tracing, public information, and medical surge response in long‑term care facilities.
There are benefits of MRC service. The COVID-19 vaccination training may be eligible to meet your continuing education requirements; but most important, you will be using your skills to vaccinate essential personnel and your neighbors to help to end this pandemic.
Learn more about the Virginia MRC at www.vamrc.org. To sign up, complete the online application in our Virginia Volunteer Health System. You are invited to attend the next COVID-19 MRC Orientation and COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Overview training on December 12, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. via Zoom using this link https://zoom.us/j/358455596.
Please feel free to contact your local MRC unit coordinator or email vamrc@vdh.virginia.gov if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
M. Norman Oliver, MD, MA
State Health Commissioner