Arlington County is partnering with Amazon to open a new coronavirus vaccination site at the company’s temporary Crystal City HQ2 offices.
The appointment-only vaccination clinic is set to open today for eligible locals who pre-register through the state’s Vaccinate Virginia website.
“This new clinic at 2100 Crystal Drive, located in a street-level storefront next to Amazon office space, will add to the vaccination clinic sites available to the County as vaccine distribution grows,” notes a press release. “The County has offered vaccination clinics at Sequoia Plaza, Walter Reed Community Center, and Lubber Run Community Center.”
County and company leaders are touting the partnership.
“Since its arrival in Arlington in 2019, Amazon has demonstrated its commitment to partnering with our community,” Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said. “By providing space at 2100 Crystal Drive for a transit-accessible vaccination clinic, Amazon is helping us reach more residents. And incorporating Amazon and JBG Smith staff into the clinic’s staffing is a force multiplier, allowing us to staff more clinics. We appreciate Amazon’s willingness to step up and offer assistance in this critical public health effort.”
“Since the outset of the global health pandemic, Amazon has targeted its resources toward protecting the health and well-being of its employees, customers, and the communities in which we operate,” said Brian Huseman, vice president of public policy at Amazon. “We’re proud to partner with Arlington and provide a safe and accessible space so that the Virginia Department of Health can continue to steadily vaccinate Arlington residents. We remain ready to provide ongoing support to our HQ2 neighbors as the entire nation works towards recovering from the pandemic.”
“We’re so happy to be partnering with Amazon and Arlington County as Virginia increases its vaccination roll out and more residents become eligible for vaccination,” said David Ritchey, Executive Vice President of JBG SMITH.
Last week Arlington County also announced partnerships intended to increase vaccination rates “among under-represented, at-risk populations.”
Arlington County has partnered with Neighborhood Health, Arlington Free Clinic, Macedonia Baptist Church, and local non-profit organizations to address disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates among Arlington’s Black, Latino, low-income, and other communities that have been more severely affected by the pandemic. The Arlington County Department of Human Services has begun scheduling vaccine appointments for people referred by nonprofits.
“We are committed to ensuring that all of our residents who want a vaccine will have access to the vaccine.” said County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti. “And we are committed to doing all we can to equitably distribute the vaccine.”
Overall vaccination rates have been steadily increasing in Arlington. Over the past week, nearly 1,700 vaccination doses have been administered per day, on average. That compares to just over 1,100 doses per day at the beginning of March.
As of Monday morning, about 23% of Arlington’s population has received at least one vaccine dose, while 11% are fully vaccinated, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.
Despite the vaccinations, the rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington is up slightly — around 250 new cases per week — compared to two weeks ago, when the seven-day total briefly fell below 200. Two deaths and five COVID-related hospitalizations have been reported over the past week, bringing the pandemic total for both in Arlington to 245 and 795, respectively.
Image (top) via Arlington County/YouTube