Dr. Danny Avula was tapped by Gov. Ralph Northam to become the state’s coronavirus vaccine coordinator in January. Avula is the joint director of the Henrico County and Richmond health departments. Photo by Caroline Martin
When the COVID-19 crisis began in early 2020, Dr. Danny Avula was the joint director of the Henrico County and Richmond health departments, a big job placing him in charge of public health for more than 560,000 residents. However, in early January, the scope of Avula’s responsibilities widened considerably after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tapped him to become the state’s vaccine coordinator — a position Avula says brought “a level of intensity that I’ve never experienced.”
Avula has dealt calmly with the pressure and achieved solid results. Initially, Virginia was one of the poorest-performing states for vaccine administration, at one point ranking worst in the nation. But, by early February, the commonwealth rose into the top 10 states for the percentage of available vaccine doses administered.
The state launched an online vaccine registration system and phone hotline in February. Like other states, Virginia prioritized vaccinations of people at higher risk for serious illness or death from coronavirus, including health care workers, nursing home residents and older adults. But by late May, any Virginian who wants a vaccination should be able to receive one, Avula forecasts.
