coronavirus

Coronavirus Cases Dip Slightly After Record Week

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) Arlington’s coronavirus case rate hit new records last week, but is starting this week a bit lower.

After the county’s seven-day trailing average rate of new daily cases hit a record of 96 on Friday, the average has trended down and, as of this morning, currently stands 80. That’s still higher than at any point in the pandemic prior to last week, however.

A total of 257 new cases have been reported since Friday, but no new COVID-related deaths and only one new hospitalization has been reported since then. The trailing seven-day total of hospitalizations remains at 15.

Arlington’s test positivity rate, meanwhile, has been slowly falling, and currently stands at 7.3%, down from a recent high of 8.7%.

The cumulative number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Arlington is currently 7,463, 612 and 164, respectively.

The new Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is currently being distributed across the country. This morning a nurse in New York City became the first person to publicly receive the vaccine in the U.S. after its regulatory approval last week.

Despite the optimism around the vaccine, it will still take months for most people to be vaccinated. In the meantime, hospitalizations statewide have hit another record.

“As the first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine rolled out of a Pfizer plant in Michigan on Sunday morning, a record 2,154 Virginians were hospitalized for treatment of the virus, and caseloads and deaths continued to increase,” InsideNova reported on Sunday. “The number of hospitalized patients statewide was up about 200 from a week ago and nearly 400 from two weeks ago as the the recent surge begin to translate into more serious cases, according to data from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.”

Virginia Hospital Center is among the hospitals seeing a rise in COVID patients, ER chief Mike Silverman said Friday in his weekly public social media post.

“Although it seems that the DMV is doing better than a lot of the country, we’re also seeing records set for new cases, deaths, and hospitalizations,” he wrote. “Locally, hospitals are full or getting full. [Emergency departments] are pushed to capacity and beyond.”

“About 40% of the patients I saw had COVID. Overall, about half of my patients required admission to the hospital which is a much higher rate than normal,” Silverman continued. He added “COVID is so prevalent in our patients” that he switched to wearing an N95 mask throughout his nine-hour shift and avoided taking it off even to eat or drink.

Another New Coronavirus Record As Arlington Nears 100 Cases Per Day

By ARLnow.com

The trajectory of coronavirus infections in Arlington continues to be up and to the right.

As of Friday the county again set a new record in its seven-day trailing average of reported COVID-19 cases. The Virginia Dept. of Health reported 109 new cases overnight, bringing the seven-day total to 671 and the daily average to 95.9 cases.

The county’s test positivity rate ticked down slightly this week, and is now 8.0%

Since Wednesday, seven additional hospitalizations have been reported, bringing the seven-day trailing total to 15. Two new COVID-related deaths have also been reported in that timeframe.

New statewide coronavirus restrictions were announced by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam yesterday and are set to go into effect Monday. The new rules include a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew, a 10-person cap on social gatherings and a strengthened universal nask requirement.

“Arlington welcomes the Governor’s actions to protect Virginians from the surging spread of the COVID-19 virus,” County Board Chair Libby Garvey said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“We have all seen the numbers and the trends, and they are deeply disturbing. We know that pandemic fatigue is real, and that it is particularly difficult to hunker down during the holidays, when we all want to be with the people we love,” Garvey continued. “But we need everyone to comply with these measures to help avoid overwhelming our healthcare system. Stay home, wear a mask if you must go outside, keep at least six feet of distance between you and those outside your household, and wash your hands frequently.”

Va. to Enact New Midnight Curfew, Stricter Limits on Gatherings

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 8:50 p.m.) Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced a new round of coronavirus-related restrictions this afternoon.

The changes, which are to take effect early Monday morning, include tightening the limit on social gatherings from 25 to 10 people, and a “modified stay at home order” between midnight and 5 a.m. daily.

The new restrictions come with some exceptions.

The social gathering rule does not apply to “religious services, employment settings, or educational settings.” The midnight curfew doesn’t apply to those “obtaining food and goods, traveling to and from work, and seeking medical attention.”

Another change: a tightening of the state mask mandate, for those five and over. It will now apply “in indoor settings shared with others and when outdoors within six feet of another person.”

Despite the new restrictions, Northam said restaurants will be able to stay open with existing rules in place, including no on-site alcohol sales after 10 p.m.

During his Thursday afternoon press conference, Northam said coming COVID vaccines are cause for optimism, but with nearly 4,000 new cases and dozens of deaths per day in the Commonwealth, “hard realities” necessitate tighter restrictions.

Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations have been rising, Northam said, and nurses and doctors are becoming exhausted. Here in Arlington, the rate of new cases hit a new high on Monday.

“If you don’t have to go out, stay at home,” the governor said. “This is just plain common sense.”

The new rules will go into effect until Jan. 31, but may be extended beyond that.

Northam also took a dig at President Trump near the end of the press conference, saying that the president had “checked out” on the pandemic and “it’s time for real leadership.”

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

(more…)

Health Matters: Should I Get the COVID Vaccine if I Have Allergies?

By Dr. George Hwang

Health Matters is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

One of the hottest topics surrounding the COVID vaccine the past few days is allergic reactions, sparked by reports of two anaphylactic reactions after administration of Pfizer’s vaccine in the UK.

This has prompted many to ask the question: should I get the COVID vaccine if I have allergies? My goal is to clarify some of the warnings so people can make an informed decision. The main takeaways focus on differentiating between allergic vs. anaphylactic reactions:

  • If you have food allergies or allergies to one medicine, you do not need to avoid the Pfizer vaccine
  • If you have had anaphylactic-level reactions and normally carry an auto-injectable device with epinephrine (e.g. EpiPen), you can either wait for more data or get vaccinated in a more controlled setting like a hospital or outpatient clinic.
  • There is no virus in the vaccine, so you can not contract COVID from the vaccine

So what happened in the UK? Last week, Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) was the first in the world to approve the vaccine developed by Germany’s BioNTech and Pfizer. Just this past Tuesday, Britain rolled out the Pfizer vaccine starting with the elderly and frontline workers. Two National Health Service workers developed anaphylactic reactions that were described as non life-threatening. Both recipients had a history of severe allergies and carried epinephrine pens routinely. Fortunately, both patients are recovering.

Initially, the MHRA put out a precautionary guidance stating people with a history of significant allergic reaction should not take the vaccine, which was quickly clarified to anybody with anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food. Many in the science community are concerned that this advice is too broad, particularly since there is no trace of nuts, eggs, or any food in the vaccine.

What is actually in this vaccine, and what could explain the allergic reaction? The Pfizer vaccine is based on new technology, designed to get the body to build up defenses against COVID on its own. The key ingredient in the Pfizer vaccine is messenger RNA (mRNA), which teaches the body how to fight against the proteins that help COVID-19 invade our cells. The mRNA is packaged up with salt, fats and sugar in a whitish, preservative-free solution to help make it deliverable into our muscle.

Here is a list of the components:

  • A nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 (this is what makes the shot work, and is NOT the virus)
  • Lipids (i.e. fatty substances) including:
    • (4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate),
    • 2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N, N-ditetradecylacetamide,
    • 1,2-distearoyl-snglycero-3-phosphocholine,
    • cholesterol
  • Potassium chloride
  • Monobasic potassium phosphate
  • Sodium chloride
  • Dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate
  • Sucrose

While none of these ingredients are known to be highly allergenic, one possibility is a component found in one of the ingredients called polyethylene glycol (PEG). PEG helps stabilize the vaccine and is not in other types of vaccines.

Patients with severe allergic reaction history were excluded from the clinical trials, which is common, and helps explain why we are seeing these events show up in real-time. The good news for those predisposed to allergic reactions is that other vaccine options will become available that may avoid the allergic trigger found in the Pfizer vaccine.

Transparency during vaccine rollout is paramount to gain public trust. Events such as these two allergic reactions will help better equip patients and healthcare workers as we prepare for the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EAU) of the vaccine in the U.S. The COVID vaccine has a particularly big magnifying glass on it, and I think we have to resist the urge to panic or “headline react.”

There is enough mistrust in the vaccine that adding a headline to avoid the vaccine if you have a history of allergies may dissuade millions of people from getting vaccinated. Allergic reactions, and certainly anaphylactic reactions, are not something to take lightly. Fortunately, these reactions are rare and treatable in the right setting, and the benefit of protecting against COVID-19 likely outweighs the risk.

Dr. George C. Hwang, known to his patients as Dr. Chaucer, is a practicing anesthesiologist who also helps to run Mind Peace Clinics in Arlington. He has written for multiple journals, textbooks and medical news outlets, and has been living in Arlington for the past 15 years.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Modification to Red Top Development — “As currently proposed, the building would have 269 residential units instead of the previously-approved 247. The unit mix will span from studios to two bedrooms, and the ground-floor units will have private entrances, including a lone three-bedroom unit. The development will also include 134 vehicular spaces and 108 bicycle spaces on a below-grade level.” [UrbanTurf]

Spotted: First Snowflakes of the Season — The first snowflakes of the season in Arlington fell yesterday. Though the few flakes that briefly fell did not amount to any degree of accumulation, it was enough to prompt a few social media posts. [Twitter, Twitter]

Rental Assistance for Day Laborers — “Arlington County Board members on Dec. 12 are expected to reallocate funds from the Shirlington Employment and Education Center (SEEC) to support rental assistance for day-laborers in the community. The plan will move $32,000 of the county government’s annual grant of $208,643 to SEEC to directly focus on rental assistance by making direct payments to landlords.” [InsideNova]

Inmates, Deputies to Be Tested — “Sheriff Beth Arthur announces all Sheriff’s Office staff and inmates housed at the Arlington County Detention Facility will be tested for COVID-19 on December 10th and 11th by the Virginia National Guard.” [Arlington County]

Nearby: MoCo May Nix Indoor Dining — “Indoor dining at restaurants in Montgomery County could soon be shut down, a new measure to combat the spread of COVID-19. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced his proposal on Wednesday afternoon during a media briefing held with county and medical officials across the state.” [Bethesda Magazine, Washington Post]

Arlington Prepares for First Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine

By James Cullum

Arlington could have the COVID-19 vaccine as early as the end of this month, but the first shipment of doses won’t be available to the general public.

Nearly a half million healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents across Virginia at risk of being infected will get the first doses from the Virginia Department of Health, and it is not yet known when the rest of the public will get the vaccine.

Arlington’s Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese told the County Board on Tuesday that there is still a lot of unknown information regarding the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that are undergoing Food and Drug Administration approval. He said that the number of vaccine doses that will arrive in Virginia (estimated at 480,000) is a moving target, that both vaccines require recipients to get booster shots within a month, and the effect on children and pregnant women is still unknown.

“The plan is that those health care personnel that directly care for COVID-19 patients, or are in support of that will receive top priority first,” Varghese said. “VDH is working with the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association to prepare the health systems that have the ultra cold chain storage ability to receive these first shipments, because it has to be done safely and you don’t want to go through the expense of creating all of this, and then not maintain the vaccine at the appropriate temperature.”

On Saturday, the County Board will consider accepting $660,000 in state grants to prepare for mass vaccine distribution. The funds would pay for the hiring of temporary medical and non-medical staff, and cover travel costs, facility rentals and clinic operations, according to Arlington Public Health.

The vaccine will eventually be available at grocery stores, as well as chain and independent pharmacies, according to the VDH COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.

Mass vaccine distribution will not necessarily mean that COVID restrictions will be quickly lifted in Arlington, however.

“The fact that we are going to enter a period where vaccination will be available doesn’t mean in any way that all the other precautions for COVID hygiene are going to be relaxed,” County Board member Takis Karantonis said.

There have been 7,062 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Arlington since the pandemic began in March, along with 162 deaths and more than 600 total hospitalizations.

Below is Tuesday’s County Board work session discussing vaccination plans.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Yet Another New Coronavirus Caseload Record for Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s cumulative coronavirus case count has passed the 7,000 mark, only two weeks after it crossed 6,000.

By contrast, it took more than 70 days over the summer to go from 2,000 to 3,000 cases.

Over the past two days, the county has reported 158 additional cases, 7 new hospitalizations and 4 COVID-related deaths. Arlington’s seven-day trailing case count is now 645, or an average of 92.1 cases per day, a new record.

The county’s test positivity rate currently stands at 8.4%, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.

Disproportionately, the growth in cases in Arlington over the past month has been among those under the age of 40. In total, patients 39 and younger account for 63% of new local cases since Nov. 9.

With the U.S. as a whole experiencing record hospitalizations, Arlington’s hospitalization rate — 11 new hospitalizations over the past seven days — may seem relatively low. That’s at least partially explained by demographics, but the raw hospitalization figure from VDH does not seem to tell the whole story.

At Virginia Hospital Center, a tent used as a “secondary ER waiting room” was set up outside the hospital last week, for the first time since the spring. The number of coronavirus patients at the hospital is rising, according to ER chief Mike Silverman, in a weekly public social media post.

“As a hospital, our inpatient census continues to climb, hitting levels that we haven’t seen since May,” Silverman wrote on Friday. “We have almost double the number of positive cases in every way we look at data — symptomatic, asymptomatic, and total patients… Our positivity rate has almost doubled compared to any week in the recent past.”

In the Emergency Department, “the number of patients we put under COVID isolation protocol, is 15-20% more than we’ve seen the last several weeks,” Silverman added. “We’re admitting slightly more of these patients than the last few weeks.”

Silverman said the hospital is likely to start rolling out vaccinations for front line healthcare workers shortly after an Emergency Use Authorization is granted, perhaps as early as this week.

“Although the vaccine gives us hope and shows the light at the end of the tunnel, we likely have 6 months until there is mass vaccination,” he write. “Hospitals are full. This time everywhere. Every hospital. People are dying. I’m very worried about the number of COVID patients that we’ll take care of over the next couple of months as the surge continues. This is the time to remain diligent and safe.”

Coronavirus Cases Hit New Peak in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

More than 600 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Arlington over the past seven days.

The county’s average COVID-19 caseload has hit new highs, just over a week after Thanksgiving weekend, though incongruously hospitalizations have ticked down.

More than 100 new cases have been reported in Arlington in each of the past three days, including 152 new cases on Sunday, a one-day record. The seven-day trailing rate of new cases is now 605, or 86.4 per day. The county’s cumulative case count stands at 6,904.

Also on the rise: Arlington’s test positivity rate, which is now 8.5%, up from 4.9% on Thanksgiving day.

One new hospitalization and one new COVID-related death were reported over the weekend. After hitting 21 last week, the highest point since the spring epidemic, Arlington’s seven-day hospitalization count has dropped to eight.

Statewide, both case counts and hospitalizations are up.

“The numbers of new COVID-19 cases reported in Virginia and Northern Virginia set new daily highs on Sunday, and hospitalizations statewide also reached a new high,” InsideNova reported. Thirteen long-term care facilities in Northern Virginia — including Manor Care and Regency Care in Arlington — have outbreaks underway, the site also reported.

New caseload records are being set in D.C. and Maryland, as well.

With cases growing and vaccines on the way — healthcare and long-term care workers will be the first in line for immunization in Virginia, according to the Virginia Dept. of Health — officials are urging universal mask-wearing in public places, especially indoors.

Reading Proficiency Among K-2 Students Trending Down Amid Pandemic

By Jo DeVoe
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Fewer K-2 students in Arlington Public Schools, particularly English learners and Black and Hispanic children, are meeting literacy benchmarks this fall, according to new data.

All APS elementary schools recently completed the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) diagnostic, provided by the Commonwealth of Virginia, for kindergarteners and first- and second-graders. The statewide system uses the screener to gauge whether students are grasping the foundations of reading.

“It is evident that we’re continuing on a downward trend with some of the PALS results,” Superintendent Francisco Durán said during the School Board meeting on Thursday night. “That downward concern is a concern for us.”

Black and Hispanic students dropped off the most during remote learning, while students with disabilities continue to perform far below neurotypical children and the overall student population.

He said “one of the most alarming bits of data” is among English language learners at the lowest levels. Less than half of students at the most basic level who met benchmarks last year met them this year.

This partially contributes to the drop among Hispanic students overall, and explains why English-language learners are prioritized for returning to school, he said.

Older English-language learners, however, buck these trends, with some outperforming native English speakers, he said.

Durán said APS’s problem extends down to core instruction, and to reverse this, schools need to incorporate daily literacy activities and small group sessions.

“We must continue to tighten — whether it’s in-person, hybrid or distance learning — differentiated instruction to small groups,” he said. “Whole class instruction will not meet the needs of all students.”

More teachers are being trained in how to do this, but Durán said teachers need more resources.

“I want to be a broken record: Small group instruction that focuses specifically on development has got to be the key here as we build out foundational literacy skills,” he said.

Former school board candidate Symone Walker welcomed his call for changes to reading instruction.

“They’re finally talking about this,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of advocacy for it, and I’m thrilled.”

COVID-19 exacerbates a problem that has persisted for years, one she said is partially rooted in inconsistent methods of teaching literacy.

This hits close to home for Walker, whose son has dyslexia. She pays a reading therapist to teach Wilson Fundations, a program recognized for helping dyslexic children, which is used in a few APS schools but not his.

“That’s the definition of inequity right there,” she said.

Fairfax County Public Schools made national headlines last week when it revealed a significant drop in academic performance, particularly among the most vulnerable students, during remote learning. Arlington Public Schools has released other preliminary grades data, but is planning a more comprehensive grades report, to be released later this month.

 

Charts via Arlington Public Schools

Miracle on 23rd Street Holiday Event Goes Virtual Tonight

By James Cullum

Even though the Christmas tree lighting, Santa Claus’ arrival, face painting and hot cocoa can’t be enjoyed in person this year, the Miracle on 23rd Street holiday tradition is still happening.

The event has been hosted at 750 23rd Street S. in Crystal City for more than 50 years, in front of what is now Melwood, the employment and job training nonprofit for people of differing abilities.

This year, however, families are being asked to stay home to virtually watch the lighting of the Christmas tree at 6:45 p.m. tonight (Friday). They can enhance the experience with a $10 “Miracle on 23rd Street In A Box” kit for kids.

“The box includes supplies to decorate cookies, make a wreath and reindeer food,” the organization said. “It can be picked up in a contactless process (after registering with Melwood), and kids can follow along with activities with special guests on its Facebook page.”

Santa Claus is still making a drive-by appearance, too, and will be escorted by the Arlington auxiliary police and firefighters from Fire Station 5.

“If you live near 23rd St. and S. Grant Ave in Arlington, you can expect to see Santa in your neighborhood between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.,” Melwood said.

Locals are being discouraged from trying to view the tree-lighting in person, however.

“While we won’t be able to come together in person for this time-honored tradition, Melwood will keep the Miracle tradition alive in a new way,” the organization said. “In compliance with Arlington County COVID-19 guidelines, Melwood is actively discouraging our neighbors from gathering near the campus for the tree lighting. We look forward to next year when we will be able to come together to continue this holiday tradition.”

Images via Melwood

Morning Poll: Should APS Extend the School Year Through Summer?

By ARLnow.com

With many students struggling with their academic achievement during remote learning and the pandemic, Fairfax County Public Schools has discussed potentially extending the school year into the summer.

The idea of an extended school year, to allow students to catch up on their studies during the summer, has also been raised by Arlington School Board member Tannia Talento.

“Can we make a summer school plan to be proactive versus reactive?” Talento asked, at a recent Board meeting.

Given that vaccines are on the way, and that there appears to be a lower level of infection during warmer-weather months, it seems likely that classes could be held in-person this summer. That may be just what’s needed, at least for some students, after months of virtual classes.

On the other hand, it could be argued that kids most of all just need a break from sitting and staring at screens, something that a summer vacation provides. And the virus will likely still be circulating this summer, despite the vaccines.

Do you think APS should plan to do so?

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