City Of Alexandria Provides Updates; Weekly Vaccine Updates; Testing Kiosk Schedule Update; Vaccine Equity; Housewares Donation Drive

Press release from the City of Alexandria:

Jan 29, 2021 at 7:31 PM

City of Alexandria Provides COVID-19 Updates; Weekly Vaccine Updates; Testing Kiosk Schedule Update; Vaccine Equity; Housewares Donation Drive

­­For Immediate Release: January 29, 2021

The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) strongly urge residents to stay home as much as possible during the current surge of COVID-19 cases in our community. Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are increasing in Alexandria. Take immediate and ongoing action to control the spread by wearing a
mask over both your nose and mouth, staying home unless it’s necessary to go out, and washing your hands frequently. Without these critical steps, additional lives may be at risk.

Weekly Vaccine Updates

Between January 22 and 28, AHD administered 1,987 first doses of vaccine to those ages 75 and up and essential workers, for a total of 8,633 first doses administered since December 24. These numbers do not include vaccines administered by private providers and pharmacies. The next group receiving vaccines will be Alexandrians ages 65 and up, along with additional essential workers.Since December 22, 2020, AHD has received 13,000 first doses of Moderna vaccine.

Alexandria’s dose breakdown to date:

• 8,633 first doses and 223 second doses administered by AHD at vaccination clinics

• 4,160 distributed to community providers, such as health care providers and pharmacies who vaccinate those ages 75 and up who are on AHD's pre-registration list

There are more than 30,000 entries in the pre-registration waitlist, including a large pool eligible for Phase 1b who are currently working almost entirely remotely with no exposure to the public. If that applies to you, consider waiting to receive your vaccine until supplies are more plentiful to ensure that those on the frontline without telework capabilities can be protected while they interact with the public.

Testing Kiosk Schedule Update

Beginning on Monday, February 1, the schedule for the
Curative COVID-19 testing kiosk at Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe St.) will change to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. This adjustment provides staffing for the most utilized hours during the middle of the day. The Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will remain the same. Testing continues to also be available at Ben Brenman Park (4800 Brenman Park Dr.) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and at Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (25 W. Reed Ave.) from 3 to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Visit
Curative.com for weather-related kiosk closures.

Vaccine Equity

In an effort to ensure equity in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has implemented a
race and ethnicity data collection point. Individuals are asked to provide their race and ethnicity when signing up for vaccine appointments to help VDH ensure fair and equitable vaccine access and distribution to all Virginians. AHD has already been collecting this information from Alexandria residents when scheduling appointments. The VDH COVID-19 hotline has been enhanced to
help Non-English speaking residents, including a greeting in Spanish to help callers access other resources and translation services for 200 languages.

ALIVE! Housewares Donation Drive

The ALIVE! Housewares Program is hosting a donation drive on Saturday, February 6, 8:30-11:30 a.m., to assist residents who are experiencing financial hardship. The drive-through collection will be accepting houseware supplies in good condition in the parking lot of Fairlington United Methodist Church (3900 King St.). Items being accepted include bath mats and towels; sheets, pillows and blankets; kitchen utensils, appliances, and dinnerware; and much more. Donations of items not on the
donation list, or that are damaged will not be accepted. The supplies collected will be distributed to residents who have indicated the need for support, by contactless delivery in order to prevent possible exposure to COVID-19. Residents who are financially impacted by the pandemic and in need of houseware supplies are encouraged to contact the
ALIVE! Housewares Program.

Alexandria COVID-19 Data At-a-Glance

The chart below, containing the seven-day moving average number of COVID-19 cases and the daily and cumulative case and fatality counts, provides detailed information about how preventive measures are impacting Alexandria's response to the pandemic. An interactive version is available at
alexandriava.gov/114883. Detailed data, including data on age, race and ethnicity, are available through links at
alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus.

AHD estimates that approximately 1 in 20 Alexandrians who tested positive for COVID-19 have required hospitalization. An estimated 66% of Virginia adults who become infected never have symptoms. The best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 remain wearing a mask in public, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from others, and frequently washing your hands or carrying and using hand sanitizer with at least 60% ethyl alcohol. Help your loved ones and neighbors by calling your close contacts if you test positive for COVID-19. Learn who to call and what to say from AHD's “
What to Do If You Get Sick” guidance, which is available in
Spanish,
Amharic,
Arabic, and
Farsi or this brief
video. Download the Virginia Department of Health’s
COVIDWISE app to be quickly and anonymously notified of likely exposure to the virus.

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This news release is available at
alexandriava.gov/120094.

This press release was produced by the City of Alexandria.The views expressed here are the author’s own.