Arlington Waits To Enter Next Phase Of COVID-19 Vaccinations

ARLINGTON, VA — Although some Virginia health districts have begun administering the COVID-19 vaccine to people in Phase 1c, the Arlington Health District is still working through priority groups 1a and 1b.

"Arlington will move into Phase 1c after those already eligible in these early groups are notified to schedule an appointment," Arlington County said, in a release. "Of course, the timeline is all dependent on the vaccine supply we receive from the Virginia Department of Health. The County’s Public Health Division continues to receive a limited supply of doses each week (there have been only slight increases since the beginning of the year), and it administering more than 97 percent of those."

Phase 1c is the last phase before Phase 2, which will open eligibility to all Virginians 16 and up. Certain essential worker groups are included in phase 1c (energy; water, wastewater, and waste removal workers; housing and construction; food service; transportation and logistics; institutions of higher education faculty and staff; finance; information technology and communication; media; legal services; public safety (engineers); and other public health workers).

According to the Virginia Department of Health's vaccine phase tracker, localities in phase 1c include Accomack, Brunswick, Danville, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Northampton, and Pittsylvania.

All other localities, including those in Northern Virginia, remain in phase 1b. Phase 1b includes a wide range of residents: people 65 and older, people 16 to 64 with an underlying health condition or disability, certain essential worker groups, and people living in correctional facilities, homeless shelters or migrant labor camps.

Arlington County residents who have not already done so can pre-register at the Vaccinate Virginia website, or at 1-800-VAX-in-VA. Pre-registration allows the county to provide notification to eligible individuals to make vaccination appointments as supply becomes available.

As of Thursday morning, 59,646 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 21,186 people have been fully vaccinated in the Arlington Health District, according to Virginia Department data. Statewide, 2,870,901 doses of the vaccine have been administered and 1,053,711 people have been fully vaccinated.

VDH confirmed 41 additional cases of COVID-19 on Thursday in Arlington. That's down slightly from the 46 new cases reported on Wednesday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Arlington Health District stands at 13,770.

No new deaths were reported Thursday in Arlington due to COVID-19. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Arlington stands at 243. A total of 785 people have been hospitalized in Arlington due to COVID-19.

More: How Arlington Residents Can Get The Coronavirus Vaccine

The positivity rate of COVID-19 testing in the Arlington Health District has been steadily declining since it peaked at 13.4 percent on Jan. 2.

As of Thursday, VDH reported that 224,925 COVID-19 tests have been taken in the Arlington, with a 4.6 percent positivity rate. Statewide there have been 8,043,259 COVID-19 tests taken, with a 6 percent positivity rate.

There have been 57 outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Arlington Health District. There have been 27 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, 15 in a congregate setting, one at a correctional facility, four in healthcare settings, six at a child care facilities, one at a college or a university, and three at a K-12 facility. The total number of cases associated with an outbreak is 988. There have been 313 reported coronavirus cases in Arlington involving health-care workers.

There have been 600,550 total cases statewide, according to data reported by the Virginia Department of Health. In Virginia, there have been 10,154 coronavirus-related deaths to date. There have been a total of 25,517 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Globally, more than 121.3 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 2.6 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday morning. In the United States, more than 29.6 million people have been infected and over 538,000 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 ...

• Phase 1C Vaccines Start In Few VA Areas; 1B Continues In NoVA
• Pharmacy Partners To Expand Vaccines Within Phase 1B In Virginia
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: 1 New Death; 46 Additional Cases
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: Positivity Rate Keeps Falling
• Large-Scale Vaccination Centers Start To Open In Virginia
• Lowest Number Of New Daily COVID-19 Cases Reported Since Nov. 2