Arlington Vaccine Doses Near 23K; State Halts Pre-Registrations

ARLINGTON, VA — State health officials have told all local health districts, including Arlington, to close their online pre-registration forms for COVID-19 vaccinations at 5 p.m. Friday and replace them at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, with a link to a new statewide system.

"The statewide vaccine pre-registration system will provide a unified and comprehensive process for people in Virginia to pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine," the Virginia Department of Health said Friday in a statement.

Existing waitlists from the local health district websites will be imported into the new system. From Friday evening through Tuesday morning, pre-registration for the COVID-19 vaccination will be unavailable to all Virginia residents.

Arlington County’s pre-registration system will close Friday evening in accordance with the state edict, officials said, and residents will keep their place in the queue, and will be able to search that they are in the new system starting Tuesday morning.

"We want to assure all Arlingtonians who had previously-pre-registered that their information will be imported to the new system and that this action will not delay their ability to receive a vaccine as soon as supply becomes available," Cara O'Donnell, spokeswoman from Arlington Public Health, told Patch.

Also on Friday, Arlington started making vaccine appointments for residents 65 and over. Notification emails will be sent to groups in approximately the order they were received. So far, about 10,000 Arlington residents between 65 and 74 have pre-registered.

As of Friday morning, 22,985 doses have been administered and 5,788 people have been fully vaccinated in the Arlington Health District. Statewide, 1,243,231 doses of the vaccine have been administered and 270,738 people have been fully vaccinated.

VDH confirmed 64 additional cases of COVID-19, the illness associated with the new coronavirus, Friday in Arlington. That's down from the 76 new cases reported on Thursday.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Arlington Health District stands at 12,504.

No new deaths were reported in the Arlington Health District on Friday. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Arlington stands at 209. A total of 746 people have been hospitalized in Arlington due to COVID-19.

VDH reported that 193,881 COVID-19 tests have been taken in Arlington, with a 7.1 percent positivity rate. Statewide there have been 6,976,127 COVID-19 tests taken, with a 9.7 percent positivity rate.

There have been 49 outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Arlington Health District. There have been 27 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, 11 in a congregate setting, one at a correctional facility, four in healthcare settings, four at a child care facilities, one at a college or a university, and one at a K-12 facility. The total number of cases associated with an outbreak is 926. There have been 293 reported coronavirus cases in Arlington involving health care workers.

There have been 544,209 total cases statewide, according to data reported by the Virginia Department of Health. In Virginia, there have been 6,966 coronavirus-related deaths to date. There have been a total of 22,718 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Globally, more than 107.8 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 2.3 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday morning. In the United States, more than 27.3 million people have been infected and over 475,000 people have died from COVID-19.

VDH breaks down the number of cases and deaths in Arlington by age, race and ethnicity. The breakdown by age is as follows:

Arlington residents should take the following actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Also see ...

• Local Vaccine Registrations To End As Virginia Takes Over System
• Most Rate Virginia Vaccine Rollout Poorly, On Wait Lists: Survey
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: No New Deaths; 76 More Cases
• First Wave Of CVS Vaccine Appointments Booked In Virginia
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: 1 New Death; 58 Additional Cases
• Positive Average Of Tests Down To 10 Percent In Virginia
• Demand For COVID-19 Vaccine Continues To Exceed County's Supply
• Patch Survey: How Is The Vaccine Rollout Going In Virginia?