VA COVID-19 Vaccine Program Remains Slow As Shortage Persists

VIRGINIA — Virginia passed the 1 million COVID-19 vaccine mark over the weekend as the state slowly moves forward in getting its population vaccinated. As of Monday, 1,105,102 vaccine doses had been administered of the 1,580,800 doses distributed to the state, according to the Virginia Health Department.

As the nation nears the two-month anniversary of its vaccination program, 206,942 Virginians, or 2.4 percent of the state's population, have been fully vaccinated.

An estimated 10.5 percent of the state's population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. The first COVID-19 vaccines were given in the United States on Dec. 14.

At the county level, the Prince William Health District is administering the Moderna vaccine by appointment only. The county is working on getting its priority population in phases 1a and 1b vaccinated. The phase 1a priority population includes front-line health care providers. The phase 1b priority population includes people 65 and older and people between 16 and 64 who have underlying health conditions.

In the county, people who are 65 and older must fill out a form and wait to be contacted about a possible vaccination appointment.

Public school teachers in Prince William County are being vaccinated by Novant/UVA Prince William Medical Center with the county's Pfizer vaccine allocation. The county has shifted employees of the Prince William County library system to work in the Prince William County Health Department COVID-19 call center.

Starting Monday, in response to its staff providing support at the county's vaccine call center, the Prince William County Public Library is offering only curbside pickup service at its Bull Run, Chinn Park, Haymarket Gainesville and Manassas City library branches. None of the county libraries' physical buildings are open to the public.

In Arlington County, 7,624 people have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 529 people, or a fraction of 1 percent of the county's population, have received their second dose of the vaccine, according to the health department.

On Friday, the Loudoun County Health Department said it is vaccinating about a thousand people daily and continues to schedule appointments for residents in the phase 1a and phase 1b of Virginia’s vaccination priority groups. The Loudoun health department’s ability to schedule more vaccination appointments is currently limited by the amount of vaccine received each week, officials said.

"The demand for vaccine across the region continues to be far greater than the available vaccine supply," the health department said. "At this time, Loudoun’s vaccine supply is expected to remain limited until at least March."

COVID-19 Data

Across Virginia, there were 1,700 new coronavirus cases reported on Monday, including 246 in Northern Virginia. A cumulative total of 530,825 cases have been reported in the state to date.

Current COVID-19 hospitalizations stand at 2,279, including 464 in the intensive care units and 298 on ventilators. Northern Virginia has 399 current patients.

According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, ICU occupancy among all hospital patients is at 78 percent, and ventilator use is at 34 percent.

There were 42 new COVID-19 deaths reported statewide on Monday. Since the start of the pandemic, 6,820 deaths in Virginia have been attributed to COVID-19.

The positive average of PCR tests stands at 10.2 percent statewide and 9 percent in Northern Virginia as of Feb. 4. The state is averaging 26,351 PCR testing encounters per day, while Northern Virginia averages 6,440.

Below are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area from Sunday to Monday:

• Alexandria: 9,744 cases, 494 hospitalizations, 105 deaths; increase of 12 cases
• Arlington County: 12,262 cases, 742 hospitalizations, 207 deaths; increase of 41 cases, two hospitalizations and one death
• Fairfax County: 61,743 cases, 3,337 hospitalizations, 807 deaths; increase of 89 cases
• Fairfax City: 444 cases, 32 hospitalizations and 12 deaths; increase of one case
• Falls Church: 315 cases, 20 hospitalizations, seven deaths; no changes
• Loudoun County: 21,564 cases, 789 hospitalizations, 188 deaths; increase of 12 cases
• Manassas: 3,826 cases, 156 hospitalizations, 33 deaths; increase of one case
• Manassas Park: 1,091 cases, 66 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of three cases
• Prince William County: 36,668 cases, 1,340 hospitalizations, 324 deaths; increase of 87 cases and one hospitalization
• Fredericksburg: 1,632 cases, 77 hospitalizations, 14 deaths; increase of one case
• Spotsylvania County: 7,641 cases, 245 hospitalizations, 87 deaths; increase of 30 cases
• Stafford County: 8,554 cases, 281 hospitalizations, 52 deaths; increase of 29 cases