Dear Shipbuilders,
As COVID-19 vaccination plans are being established across the nation and in our community, I want to update you on all that we are doing to provide vaccines to our workforce in a safe and efficient way.

NNS is categorized as “1B” for the vaccine, which includes frontline essential workers. For the last eight weeks, we have been working hand-in-hand with the local Virginia Department of Health office on the plan for NNS to receive doses of the vaccine. We expect this to happen in about two weeks. As you can imagine, the plans are fluid, but if this plan does not change, we anticipate having vaccines available for our workforce by the end of January.

This is outstanding news for our workforce and an important action we can all take to move our company, our community and our nation forward. I want to personally thank our exceptional medical and EH&S teams for their tireless efforts.

Our task team is already coordinating the logistics of administering the vaccine to employees across all three shifts.

• The old Apprentice School gym on Marshall Avenue, Building 601, will be the vaccine center. (This is the same location where we conduct COVID testing.)
• The medical staff from the HII Family Health Center (QuadMed) will administer the vaccine.

The team is developing a vaccination schedule in accordance with CDC guidance. The first groups to receive the vaccine include: first responders; essential personnel who man the facility during holidays and inclement weather; and employees over 60. We expect to receive enough vaccines for the entire workforce, and additional scheduling details will be published as plans are finalized.

While the vaccine is not mandatory for NNS employees, it is strongly encouraged. The CDC advises that getting a vaccination will help keep us from getting COVID-19 and will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic. Additional information can be found here.

Again, this is an evolving plan. There will be a lot of new information shared in the days and weeks ahead. I appreciate your attention and patience as we work through these details and communicate this next chapter in our COVID-19 journey.

Respectfully,
Jennifer Boykin
President
Newport News Shipbuilding