coronavirus

Published February 24, 2021 at 4:30PM | Updated February 26, 2021 at 12:07PM

(Updated 12 p.m. 2/26/21) For the first time in nearly a year, school starts next week for Pre-K through 2nd grade students in Arlington Public Schools.

To help ensure safety for students getting to school — even if only for two days per week — the Arlington County Police Department is getting involved in the process.

APS is making final health and safety preparations ahead of elementary schoolers returning on Tuesday, March 2 — nearly one calendar year after APS closed due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, ACPD is ramping up efforts to remind residents of how to drive, cycle and walk safely in school zones.

“Since this is the first time in nearly a year that motorists will see an increased number of students walking, bicycling, and riding the bus to class, ACPD is encouraging the public to re-familiarize themselves with the location of school zones, applicable traffic laws (including those pertaining to school buses), and tips to keep students safe,” a press release said.

APS expanded its walk zones around schools to limit the number of students on the buses and enforce social-distancing. ACPD said this may result in more children being driven to school.

“The public can expect to see increased vehicular traffic in and around schools,” the release said.

Message boards along roadways throughout the county will remind motorists to slow down, avoid distractions and watch for students.

The county is also installing the following signs indicating temporary parking restrictions near schools.

In terms of health and safety inside schools, more than 98% of classrooms meet or exceed air quality requirements, APS said.

Additionally, the school system has three ways to ensure lunch can be consumed safely, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members on Thursday. And starting March 1, families can fill out the daily COVID-19 symptom screener sent to their devices, and the school has made changes to transportation.

Amid falling rates of COVID-19 cases, reported cases among in-person students and teachers appear to remain low, when compared to close contacts with sick individuals. This means mitigation strategies are working, Durán said.

“I just want to acknowledge the Herculean effort that has gone on over the past year even to get to this point… and all the people who contributed to creating this plan,” Arlington School Board member Cristina Diaz-Torres said. “I am very confident in what we have thus far.”

Still, the superintendent acknowledged more work ahead. Many teachers report lacking clarity on how to teach online and in-person students at the same time using new technologies such as special microphones and cameras.

For most students, in-person learning will occur only twice a week, and a group of 75 parents, teachers, staff and students have determined ways distance learning could be improved. The group found that teachers and schools could use technology more consistently and students should be encouraged to turn on their cameras.

“When they have their cameras turned off consistently, it’s hard to find their level of engagement and for staff to build a meaningful relationship,” Durán said.

More back-to-school safety tips from the police press release, below.

Va. Rolls Back Some Restrictions on Dining, Outdoor Gatherings

Published February 24, 2021 at 1:05PM | Updated February 24, 2021 at 1:28PM

Gov. Ralph Northam announced today that he is easing some public health restrictions, including the 10 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales.

Effective March 1, Virginians will be able to buy and drink alcohol at restaurants, food courts, breweries, distilleries and wineries until they are required to close at midnight.

The changes to the current executive order come amid declining rates of hospitalizations and infections and rising vaccination rates in the Commonwealth, Northam said during a press conference this morning (Wednesday).

Northam is also easing restrictions for outdoor entertainment and social gatherings, where evidence shows the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 is lower, as well as allowing overnight summer camps to open “with strict mitigation measures in place.”

“Thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of all Virginians, hospitalization and positivity rates across the Commonwealth are the lowest they have been in nearly three months,” Northam said in a press release. “As key health metrics show encouraging trends and we continue to ramp up our vaccination efforts, we can begin to gradually resume certain recreational activities and further reopen sectors of our economy.”

He attributed the rise in cases over the winter to cold weather and the holidays.

In Arlington, the rate of new coronavirus cases dropped from a peak of around 850 cases per week since mid-January, but has since leveled off between 250-300 cases per week. Cases have similarly dropped nationwide, but that drop has been leveling off.

Meanwhile, Virginia’s Safer at Home strategy — and its accompanying requirements for physical distancing, mask-wearing, gathering limits and business capacity restrictions — will remain in place.

“Even as we take steps to safely ease public health guidelines, we must all remain vigilant so we can maintain our progress — the more we stay home, mask up, and practice social distancing, the more lives we will save from this dangerous virus,” Northam said.

The current modified Stay at Home order will expire on Sunday.

Several Arlington restaurants have told ARLnow that they were waiting on a decision about the Stay at Home order before making plans for March, a month that includes St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness basketball and other events that are traditional draws for local bars.

The full press release from the governor’s office is below.

Metro Asking Public To Weigh In On Cuts, Including Closing Several Arlington Stations

By Matt Blitz

Published February 24, 2021 at 9:30AM

Metro is asking the public to weigh in on possible options for drastic service cuts, including potentially closing several Arlington stations in January 2022.

On Wednesday Metro announced that the public comment period for its 2022 fiscal year budget had officially opened.

With it, they are asking riders to fill out a survey about what options they’d be willing to deal with beginning on Jan. 1, 2022 if more federal money is not received.

The options on the survey include closing Metrorail every day at 9 p.m, trains arriving only every 30 mins at most stations, and shuttering up to 22 stations that have low ridership or are near others.

That list includes four stations in Arlington: Clarendon, Virginia Square, Arlington Cemetery, and East Falls Church.

These were the same stations that were closed earlier in the pandemic due to lower ridership and construction.

The survey also asks about prefered options for cutting Metrobus service, including a number of lines that run through Arlington and Northern Virginia.

Proposals include consolidating the bus system into 50 lines that serve only the highest ridership routes as well as limiting overall service to about half of pre-pandemic levels.

Metro is asking riders to fill out the survey by Tuesday, March 16 at 5 p.m.

The potential cuts come as Metro continues to say they are facing a significant budget shortfall if no additional federal money is received — a shortfall caused in large part by decreased ridership during the pandemic.

The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority says ridership has decreased by 90% overall on Metro.

Back in December, Metro was promised more than $600 million in the latest coronavirus relief package. That funding, notes Metro, has helped to avoid layoffs, provide essential service, and prepare for riders returning.

But even with that funding and other austerity measures, “there is not enough money to fill the entire budget gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2021,” Metro’s press release says.

There’s a decent chance, however, that this public survey will become moot.

President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan has $20 billion earmarked for public transit agencies. At this time, however, it remains unclear how much would go to Metro if the plan does pass in Congress.

Still, county leaders say the potential cuts are concerning.

“Arlington agrees with Metro that federal funding is essential to ensuring that the sort of drastic cuts that could profoundly impact Metro in Arlington will not have to be made,” writes Arlington Board Chair Matt de Ferranti in a statement to ARLnow. “Our Senators and Representatives fully support Metro funding in the federal legislation currently under consideration on Capitol Hill. We are grateful for their critical leadership and are staying in close contact to ensure this critical federal support for our community gets enacted and appropriated. ”

In recent weeks, though, service changes have already come to Metro based on the revised 2021 budget approved in November.

Starting last week, trains started coming every 12 mins on the Orange, Blue, Silver, and Yellow lines. However, Metrobus will start expanding service beginning on March 14. Buses are being added on 125 lines and weekend service is being expanded.

Vaccine Pre-Registration Sync With State Still Ongoing, County Says

Published February 23, 2021 at 3:30PM

Arlington County officials say names of people pre-registered to receive a coronavirus vaccine are still migrating into the state’s new Vaccinate Virginia system.

It has been more than one week since Arlington County shut down its pre-registration platform to send 41,000 names to the Virginia Department of Health’s new statewide platform. The delay means that for now, some pre-registered individuals may not see their registration status. But that does not mean the pre-registrations have gone missing, county spokeswoman Cara O’Donnell said in an email.

“At no time were any lists ‘lost,'” O’Donnell said. “All data still exists, and the County is in the process of rolling out vaccine scheduling notification to residents 65+.”

This applies to about 10,000 pre-registered individuals 65 and older, she said.

Many pre-registrations have not merged due to formatting problems, state health department spokesperson Logan Anderson said. For example, some data fields were case sensitive, which he said has been addressed.

“Data cleanup is an ongoing process, and they may show up in the system,” he said. “There were also 1.6 million entries transferred in total. After cleanup and de-duplication, that number dropped to about 1.2 million.”

Arlington County shut down its pre-registration system at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 to start sending its names to VDH, O’Donnell said.

“As we’ve seen, that migration process is taking longer than anticipated, and we are in constant communication with VDH about the migration,” she said.

She said county officials are hearing that one feature of the state system in particular, called “Check the List,” is not working for many lookups.

“This is not an indication that these people are not in the system,” she said. “Many actually are, but the checking the list feature is still experiencing difficulties.”

While some ARLnow readers report that their registration has yet to transfer, others say their problems last week were resolved, or that they re-registered.

One woman who could not find her three family members’ statuses last week told ARLnow that “all three family members registered as 1B with Arlington in mid-January now appear with VDH as ‘This user is registered.'”

Another woman who spoke with ARLnow last week confirmed that after she and her husband decided to re-register.

“Since then we show up in the system, but we have no real way of knowing whether our original Jan. 9 registration with Arlington County is part of the consolidated list, or whether we moved to the back of the line,” she said.

The Commonwealth is encouraging people to re-register online or call the Vaccinate Virginia call center at (877) VAX-IN-VA, Anderson said.

During a County Board work session last week, Board Member Christian Dorsey said the system’s issues are basic and should have been tested before the launch.

“It’s creating a really huge burden on the local districts to basically provide customer service and complaint feedback on the state’s site,” Dorsey said. “This is an implicit unfunded mandate to fix through customer service and other forms a state-mandated issue.”

Arlington Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese said he and his colleagues across the state have been giving the state “more than an earful about the impact that this has been having.”

“It should have been working from the minute that it opened up,” he said.

Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said the county will continue to work with people worried about their status.

“If you’re pre-registered, take some days and up to a week before you do anything — take a breath,” de Ferranti said. “We have a committed staff and we will reach out.”

Arlington Safeway Stores Are Offering Vaccine Appointments

Published February 23, 2021 at 1:15PM | Updated February 23, 2021 at 5:10PM

(Updated at 5:10 p.m.) Several Safeway stores in Arlington are offering COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Arlington, amid high demand for vaccinations.

The appointments are available for those ages 65 and up only.

Safeway stores in Arlington that appeared on the company’s vaccine appointment website as of 1 p.m. include the locations at 2500 N. Harrison Street, 3713 Lee Highway in Cherrydale, and 5101 Wilson Blvd in Bluemont. Stores in McLean, Falls Church and D.C. area also listed.

As of publication time, appointments were available for the second week in March. Appointment slots in previous weeks had been already been filled.

“Three of our Arlington stores will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines tomorrow,” a company spokeswoman confirmed to ARLnow Tuesday evening. “At this time, the allocated doses are very limited.”

Safeway is part of a federal vaccination program for national pharmacy chains and networks. CVS, another partner in the federal vaccination program, started offering appointments in Arlington earlier this month but its appointment website says CVS locations across Virginia are all fully booked.

Walgreens stores in Virginia are expected to start vaccinations soon, after the company gets its first shipment of nearly a half-million vaccine doses on Thursday.

Arlington County started taking appointments for those ages 65-74 on Friday, Feb. 12, after previously only vaccinating certain frontline workers and those ages 75 and up.

As of Tuesday morning, the county crossed the 10,000 mark for those fully vaccinated with two vaccine shots. A total of 31,553 vaccine doses have been administered in Arlington, and 10,157 people have been fully vaccinated, according to the Virginia Dept. of Health.

Hat tip to @DMVVaccine

COVID-19 Cases, Test Positivity Rate Falling in Arlington

Published February 19, 2021 at 10:45AM | Updated February 19, 2021 at 11:07AM

(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) The rate of new reported coronavirus cases in Arlington is continuing to fall, today reaching the lowest point since Nov. 15.

With vaccinations happening at a steady clip, and after a winter peak that has seen more than 6,500 confirmed infections since Thanksgiving, the virus is slowing down in Arlington, at least for now.

In the past seven days, 264 new cases have been reported, less than a third of the infection rate of mid-January. The county’s test positivity rate, meanwhile, is down to 4.6%; it was nearly 12% in early January.

Arlington County is encouraging residents to keep taking precautionary measures so that the progress continues.

“As the Virginia Department of Health dashboard shows the County’s 7-day positivity rate dropping to 4.6%, Arlingtonians are called upon to continue following COVID-19 mitigation efforts: wear a mask, keep social distance, wash your hands,” the county said in an email to residents last night “Help us keep this trend going!”

The reduction in cases mirrors the situation regionally, across the state, and nationwide.

“The number of new COVID-19 cases in Northern Virginia has fallen to its lowest level since before Thanksgiving,” InsideNova reported yesterday. “Both the region and the state as a whole continue to see a decline in coronavirus case trends that began in mid-January, as hospitalizations, deaths and test positivity rates all have been falling from their post-holiday peaks.”

Some experts expect the downward trend to continue across the United States as more people get vaccinated and the virus has a harder time finding new hosts.

"We've probably got protective immunity in about 40% of the public," says @ScottGottliebMD. "The spring and the summer will be relatively quiescent." https://t.co/gtLWnfCegE pic.twitter.com/5x0tM4IUzx

— CNBC (@CNBC) February 19, 2021

In Arlington, an average of 857 new daily vaccine doses have been administered over the past week. In total, 28,982 doses had been administered as of Friday morning. The county is currently vaccinating those 65 and older, along with certain categories of frontline workers.

Issues with the transition from Arlington’s vaccine pre-registration system to the new statewide system remain. The county said Wednesday that work was still underway to transfer over all prior local registrations.

We are aware that many Arlington residents who preregistered through the County system are unable to find themselves in the ‘Check the List’ feature. Data migration is continuing throughout the week and it may take several more days for your name to appear in the centralized system.

If you preregistered using the Arlington County system before February 13, you are still on the list, and your status will not be affected. Do not complete a new preregistration in the VDH system. Additionally, Arlington County will maintain all the data submitted before February 13. […]

NOTE: Arlington’s COVID-19 hotline does not have access to the state’s system and cannot answer questions about Vaccinate Virginia. Arlington call takers are available for other COVID-19 questions, such as local testing and food and housing assistance.

Despite the slowdown in cases, Arlington residents are still dying and becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. Three deaths and seven new hospitalizations have been reported over the past week.

‘Transition’ Budget Proposal Has COVID-19 Contingency Fund, Higher Taxes for Homeowners

Published February 18, 2021 at 5:15PM | Updated February 23, 2021 at 8:39AM

Last year started out as “a good budget year” for County Manager Mark Schwartz. But nearly a year after the pandemic hit Arlington, Schwartz’s new budget proposal is more austere.

Schwartz calls the upcoming Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which is being presented to the County Board Thursday afternoon, a “transition budget.” While modestly increasing spending, his proposal reflects big pandemic-era declines in some key revenue sources.

“This budget provides us a path forward, ensuring we have a strong, resilient County government when we emerge from this pandemic,” he said after a press briefing earlier today.

For starters, the proposed $1.36 billion budget — representing a 1.4% increase in spending — includes a $17.5 million coronavirus contingency fund. This will fund vaccine distribution and testing, eviction prevention, food assistance, and will go toward supporting local businesses.

Meanwhile, Schwartz has identified $16.4 million in cuts to help close what the county describes as a budget shortfall of $26 million, down from what was initially estimated last fall to be a $50 million shortfall. The rest will be made up through one-time funding sources, he said.

The bulk of the cuts come from eliminating 56 vacant positions, which resulted from a voluntary retirement package offered in January and a continuing hiring freeze from last year.

Schwartz proposes keeping the $1.013 per $100 property tax rate flat, as he did last year. Still, the average homeowner will see a tax bill that is 5-6% higher due to rising property values, Schwartz said. Commercial property assessments, by contrast, declined this year.

Homeowners will see an average increase of $29 in stormwater taxes, reflecting a rate hike of 1.3 to 1.7 cents per $100 in property value. The increase will help generate $15.1 million earmarked for stormwater improvements. Eventually, the county plans to eliminate the stormwater tax completely in favor of a fee based on how much impervious surface covers a given property, Schwartz said.

Schools will receive 47% of the tax revenue, or $529.7 million, an increase of $5.1 million over last year.

(Updated on 2/23/21) The pandemic has saved the county money through remote work and online services, which Schwartz said will help fund other programs and services. His budget includes a one-time, $500 bonus for county employees, who will be foregoing merit-based raises.

“Our employees have gone without raises — or a vacation day — for an entire year,” Schwartz said.

After the County Manager submits his proposed budget, the Arlington County Board will vote on an advertised tax rate this Saturday. The Board will be able to ultimately adopt a property tax rate equal to or less than, but not above, the advertised rate.

The Board will then review the budget proposal and conduct a series of work sessions with each county department beginning in March.

There will be two public hearings: Tuesday, April 6, and Thursday, April 8. The final vote on the FY 2022 operating budget is scheduled for Saturday, April 17.

Certain parts of the budget may be revisited, Schwartz said, should additional federal funding become available.

Other highlights from the budget proposal include:

More racial equity training, money for a Restorative Justice initiative, and more funding for probation, parole and the Public Defender’s Office.
About $1.5 million to implement several recommendations from the Police Practices Group, especially in transitioning mental health-related work from police officers to clinicians.
Allowing firefighters to work a shorter week, adding transportation safety officers to the police department, and multiple positions to support the new body-worn camera program.
The county elections office is proposed to receive additional staff to support mail-in ballots and absentee voting.
Funding for the opening of the Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center and the Lubber Run Community Center
Increasing the lowest base pay for county employees from $15 to $17 per hour
Adding Juneteenth as a County holiday
Delayed re-opening of Cherrydale and Glencarlyn libraries, saving $881,000
An additional $2.6 million in housing grants, plus $21 million in housing choice vouchers and $8.9 million for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund.

Schwartz’s budget proposal focuses affordable housing efforts on “eviction prevention and direct housing support,” but decreases county funding for Arlington’s affordable housing development fund, as the Washington Business Journal’s Alex Koma noted on Twitter (below).

“4.6% of the County’s operating budget is dedicated to housing and more than 15% is dedicated to safety net services and housing,” a slide from the budget presentation noted.

#ArlingtonVA officials are previewing the 2022 budget now, ahead of a full reveal Saturday.

Of note: the county contribution to its main affordable housing loan fund is getting halved, to $8 mil. Amazon, of course, is chipping in $20 mil on its own, but this is a notable change pic.twitter.com/xDrGoUbuDC

— Alex Koma (@AlexKomaWBJ) February 18, 2021

File photo

Governor Makes Rent Relief Announcement in Arlington

Published February 17, 2021 at 11:40AM

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam delivers remarks on rent relief at Gilliam Place Apartments on Tuesday (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Del. Alfonso Lopez chats with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam before remarks on rent relief at Gilliam Place Apartments on Tuesday (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Gov. Ralph Northam made an Arlington apartment building his venue to announce a half-billion dollars in rent relief for Virginia families.

Northam announced the new federal funding for the Virginia Rent Relief Program at Gillam Place, an affordable apartment complex along Columbia Pike. He did so after touring an Arlington vaccination clinic Tuesday morning.

The rent relief “will assist households and landlords with rent payments to avoid eviction” during the pandemic. Virginia residents can apply for up to 15 months of rent relief, for payments dating back to April 1, 2020 and up to three months in the future.

NEW: Today in @ArlingtonVA, I announced that @VADHCD received $524 million in new federal funding to assist tenants and landlords with rent payments.

More help is on the way for individuals and families hardest hit by the #COVID19 pandemic.

Details here: https://t.co/Z0iqIotAbf pic.twitter.com/WOB3LoyzoN

— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) February 16, 2021

Thank you @GovernorVA for coming to @ArlingtonVA @APAH_org to announce new federal funding of rent relief to help the thousands of families struggling due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/YTCyGRSm93

— Patrick Hope (@HopeforVirginia) February 16, 2021

Morning Notes

Published February 17, 2021 at 7:30AM

Arts Group Pushing for New Venue — “As part of its recently adopted strategic plan, [Embracing Arlington Arts] plans to use the coming three years to build community support for a performing-arts venue that would include a black-box theater and ancillary classroom and office space. Efforts would also be made to identify a site and start raising funds.” [InsideNova]

APS Changing Student Camera Policy — “In response to challenges teachers are experiencing engaging students with cameras off, we have adapted our policy regarding the use of cameras during instruction time, based on input we have received from teachers, staff, parents, the Distance Learning Task Force, and advisory committee members. We are asking teachers to encourage students to turn on their cameras during synchronous instruction and while directly engaging with peers and staff.” [Arlington Public Schools]

Spotlight on Arlington Man’s Heroism — “A must read about Arlington’s Paris Davis, the former publisher of VA’s Metro Herald. His heroism in 1965, while commanding a Special Forces team in Vietnam, seems worthy of the Medal of Honor. But those who served with him say the Pentagon kept losing the paperwork.” [New York Times, Twitter]

Local Nonprofit’s Work Highlighted — “Mohammad Ahmed, 30, gave up working as an Uber driver in March for fear of infecting his wife, 3-year-old son and two elderly parents who live with him. When he couldn’t pay the rent or electric bill for their two-bedroom apartment in Arlington, a local charity funded mainly by taxpayer dollars stepped in.” [Washington Post]

Metro Reducing Rail Service — “Metro this week began reducing Metrorail service during peak commuting hours because of low usage while saying it will boost Metrobus service as new commuting trends emerge during the coronavirus pandemic. The transit agency referred to the changes as a way to ‘normalize’ rail service.” [Washington Post]

Local Economy Expected to Grow — “Greater Washington’s economy will rebound in 2021 as Covid-19 vaccinations become more common and the weather warms up, according to a new regional economic forecast released Friday. That means 3.5% growth in the gross regional product in 2021, a sharp rebound from the 2.9% drop in 2020. But the region will only see a full recovery in 2022, with 4.1% projected growth in the local economy.” [Washington Business Journal]

Many Office Workers Will Stay Remote — “Working in D.C. will continue to look different for the greater part of this year due to the coronavirus, a new study shows. Employers expect less than a third of their employees to physically be in the office in the first quarter of this year, but by the fall, they expect 75% of their staff to be back, according to a study.” [NBC 4, Washingtonian]

Flickr pool photo by GM and MB

Next Two Vaccine Groups Could Take Several Months, County Board Chair Says

Published February 16, 2021 at 3:50PM | Updated February 19, 2021 at 10:07AM

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) Arlington’s vaccination effort is continuing at a steady pace, but it could still be months before the majority of local residents are eligible to be vaccinated.

As of this morning, 26,180 vaccine doses have been administered in Arlington, and 7,549 people have received both vaccine shots, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. About 750 doses per day have been administered over the past week. At the current rate of second doses, it would take 481 days to fully vaccinate the remainder of Arlington’s adult population.

With a new one-shot vaccine likely to be approved for use soon, and with the federal government securing more vaccine supply, the rate of vaccinations will eventually quicken. Still, Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti says it could be months before the vaccine is available for anyone who wants it in Arlington — which, by one account, is around 96% of the population.

“We will get you vaccinated but it will take time. My best guess is 2-3 months to get through 65 to 74 and underlying medical conditions [groups],” de Ferranti said in an email to constituents today. “Another 2 months after that to get to everyone. I think by July 1 or August 1 most everyone will have been vaccinated. I could be wrong, but that is my best guess.”

On Friday, Arlington County started scheduling appointments for the 65-74 age group, after previously focusing on those who are 75 and older or in certain categories of essential workers, like teachers. CVS stores in Virginia, including in Arlington, also started administering vaccines to those 65 and older on Friday.

Arlington is trying to make the most of the vaccine it is receiving from the state, de Ferranti said.

“We received 2,750 vaccines per week, for a total of 5,500 over the last two weeks,” he writes. “Half of those doses go to the 65 and above group. The other half go to those in the essential workers list in [Phase] 1b… Every few days, we will email another group of 2,000 or so from the list to schedule vaccination appointments.”

Despite the progress, challenges remain, including getting more people registered.

“There are about 10,000 Arlington residents who have pre-registered in our system,” de Ferranti wrote. “There are thousands of additional Arlington residents who are between 65 and 74 who have not yet registered. (Arlington population over 65 in total is more 21,000. Some are over 75 and have been served.)”

Another challenge: a switch from a county-run vaccination system to a new state-run system that launched this morning.

“All individuals who have previously filled out a survey or form or signed up for a waitlist to be vaccinated through their local health district will be automatically imported into the new statewide system,” the state said on its website. “Individuals will maintain their current status in the queue, and will be able to search that they are in the new system starting Tuesday morning.”

However, a number of people emailed ARLnow today to report that a search of the new system did not pull up their registration. One Arlington resident who pre-registered three family members with the county said all three were apparently lost.

“I called the state Virginia COVID vaccine phone line (877-275-8343). The agent told me that ‘so many’ are calling with the same problem,” the resident told ARLnow shortly after noon today. “She said the only thing to do is start the registration all over again… going to the bottom of the queue. I asked to speak to a supervisor, was on hold for 30 minutes, then disconnected.”