COVID-19 Vaccination: Volunteers Encourage People To Register

ARLINGTON, VA — About 250 volunteers fanned out across Arlington Saturday morning with the mission of getting more people registered for the COVID-19 vaccine. The effort was part of Arlington County's Complete Vaccination Committee (CVC) Day of Action, which convened in the parking lot of the Columbia Pike Library.

"Pretty soon the vaccine is going to be available for everyone, so we're going to be able to make that offer," said CVC co-chair Nancy White. "People should all get registered so that when their time comes they can be called and they can get the vaccine."

After receiving their instructions, volunteers fanned out across the county, knocking on doors, handing out flyers, and placing signs in median strips and at intersections along neighborhood roads. A special effort was taken to reach people in multi-family dwellings and also small business owners, who could share the information with their customers.

As the president of the Arlington Free Clinic, White has spent much of the last year sharing COVID-19 information with the community and getting people tested. Now, she and the CVC are working to get more Arlington residents to register for a vaccination appointment.

"It's just so nice to have some hope to offer to people after a year of so much sorrow, so much sadness, so much restriction in our way of life, as well," she said. "The patients that we see have seen so much illness and death in their families, so I'm thrilled that the vaccine is finally available and that the doses are more available than they were a few weeks ago."

Arlington County stepped up its vaccination effort last week, in order to meet Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's goal of opening up vaccinations to all adults by the week of April 18. To help out, the Virginia Department of Health doubled the county's weekly allotment of vaccine doses from 8,000 to 16,000.

Currently, Arlington is scheduling appointments for people in the 1a, 1b, and 1c priority groups. Once a substantial number of people in those groups have been vaccinated, Arlington will begin scheduling appointments for people in Phase 2.

All Virginians 16 and older, including those in all the priority groups, can pre-resister 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 more supply becomes available.

"We're so happy that there are more doses available for Arlington from the state, and so, hopefully, that will continue and that the people who have been in line and registered, that line will start moving fast," White said. "People will be able to get in and get vaccinated. We think that's going to start moving really quickly over the next few weeks."

Those who have already registered or have been vaccinated can help the with the ongoing vaccination effort, White said. They can encourage and help their friends, family, and neighbors to sign up.

"It's any easy process, but it's also something that they can do to help people get registered who might have questions about how to do that," she said. "Spread the word."

More information about the Complete Vaccination Committee is available online.

COVID-19 Numbers

As of Monday morning, 114,821 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 41,573 people have been fully vaccinated in the Arlington Health District, according to Virginia Department of Health data. Statewide, 4,768,777 doses of the vaccine have been administered and 1,817,033 people have been fully vaccinated

Arlington County started scheduling vaccination appointments to residents in the Phase 1c priority group on Wednesday. The county will begin offering Phase 2 appointments the week of April 18. People in Phase 2 can now 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 more supply becomes available.

VDH confirmed 33 additional cases of COVID-19 on Friday in Arlington, which is more than twice the 15 new cases reported on Sunday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Arlington Health District stands at 14,679.

No new deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in Arlington. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths stands at 249. A total of 816 people have been hospitalized in Arlington due to COVID-19.

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. VDH reported that 247,400 COVID-19 tests have been taken in the Arlington, with a 4.8 percent positivity rate. Statewide there have been 8,738,775 COVID-19 tests taken, with a 6.6 percent positivity rate.

More: COVID-19 Vaccinations In Arlington: Need To Know

There have been 60 outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Arlington Health District. There have been 27 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, 18 in a congregate setting, one at a correctional facility, four in health care 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 1,035. There have been 334 reported coronavirus cases in Arlington involving health-care workers.

There have been 636,862 total cases statewide, according to data reported by the Virginia Department of Health. In Virginia, there have been 10,486 coronavirus-related deaths to date. There have been a total of 27,229 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Globally, more than 136.1 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 2.9 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Monday morning. In the United States, more than 31.1 million people have been infected and over 562,000 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.

For more information on coronavirus vaccines in Virginia, see the Virginia Patch COVID-19 vaccination page and link to it: https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/topics/virginia-covid-19-vaccine-information-hub

Also see ...

• All Adults Eligible For Vaccine In 22 Virginia Health Districts
• Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Card Scam In Virginia, DC: What To Know
• COVID-19 Update: Nearly 20% Of Virginians Fully Vaccinated
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: Over 105K Vaccine Doses Given
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: No New Deaths; 46 Additional Cases
• NoVA Starts Phase 1c Vaccinations With Eye On Phase 2 Deadline
• Phase 2 Of COVID-19 Vaccinations Coming Soon To Arlington