health department

Arlington to Start Providing Vax Booster Shots Today

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County is starting to administer vaccine booster shots today, as the rate of new Covid cases continues to decline ever so gradually.

Following federal guidance, the county’s health department says it will administer a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine to qualified individuals, as defined in the press release below. The jabs will be available by appointment only at the county vaccination sites at the Arlington Mill and Walter Reed community centers.

Arlington’s rate of new Covid cases, meanwhile, continues to decline, albeit slowly. As of today the seven day moving average of new daily cases stands at 35, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. That’s down from a seasonal peak of 48 cases per day two weeks ago. One week ago the moving average was 37 cases per day.

Three Covid-related deaths and 19 hospitalizations have been reported so far this month in Arlington, where at least 76.6% of the population has received at least one vaccine shot, according to VDH.

The full press release about booster shots is below.

On Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021, Arlington County Public Health will begin offering COVID-19 vaccine boosters for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to certain people by appointment only, based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This new, interim guidance allows for individuals who are at highest risk for COVID-19 to receive a Pfizer- COVID-19 booster shot to help increase their protection, including those in high-risk occupational and institutional settings.

“Vaccine has proven to be the single most effective strategy against reducing serious illness resulting in hospitalization or death and we are grateful that boosters as CDC recommends are now available to our eligible residents,” said Reuben K. Varghese, MD, MPH, Health Director for Arlington County.

The CDC recommends:

  • People 65 years and older and residents 18 years and older in long-term care settings should receive a booster shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer primary series;
  • People 50-64 years old with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer primary series;
  • People 18-49 years old with underlying medical conditions may receive a booster shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer primary series;
  • People 18-64 years old who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after their Pfizer primary series.

People can talk to their healthcare provider about whether getting a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot is appropriate for them.

These recommendations only apply to people who previously received a Pfizer-BioNTech primary series (i.e., the first 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine); At this time booster doses are not recommended for people who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A deer and a fox in the rain, near the Arlington-Fairfax border (photo courtesy Marc Roth)

‘Kindness Yard Sale’ in Penrose — “Susan Thompson-Gaines wants to spread kindness. This weekend, she’s doing it through a big yard sale at her house. She says it’s hard to miss the home she shares with her husband, David — it’s the yellow house with purple trim at the corner of South Second and South Fillmore streets in Arlington… what makes this yard sale different is that the proceeds are all spent on acts of kindness.” [WTOP]

Flood Cleanup for Pike Businesses — From WUSA 9’s Matthew Torres: “A dental hygienist sent me this other video of the flash flooding in Columbia Pike in Arlington. Their business had to close today as they clean up the water that seeped through. Other businesses are having to do the same thing.” [Twitter]

More Vaccinations Added to State Stats — “Today, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has incorporated vaccination data from jurisdictions in Maryland. Virginians who received vaccinations in Maryland that were not reported through the Virginia Immunization Information System are now included in the locality and statewide dashboards. The updated data reflects an increase in COVID-19 vaccine first dose rates of 0.33% Alexandria, 0.46% Arlington, and 0.39% Eastern Shore.” [Virginia Dept. of Health]

AFAC Gets Donation from Library Program –“Representatives of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library (FOAL), together with the Arlington Public Library and Arlington County Department of Technology Services, presented a check for $4,525 to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). The donation represents the number of Library readers who successfully completed the 2021 Summer Reading Challenge. The Library’s popular Summer Reading program helps children avoid the ‘summer slide.'” [Arlington County]

Fmr. County Board Member Dies — “Jay Edwin Ricks, 88, passed away at home in Arlington, Virginia on July 18, 2021 due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease… In 1967, Jay was elected to the Arlington County Board where he served until 1971. During this time, he was active in transportation issues and Vice Chairman of Metro during the critical phase of planning the Metro system.” [Legacy]

Local Church Adapts to Pandemic — ‘As another wave of the pandemic comes at us, we are different as a congregation,’ said the Rev. Amanda Poppei, senior minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia… Poppei’s congregation began hosting outdoor events in spring 2021, including a handbell parade to ring in Pride Month in June and a Flower Communion in May, which they intentionally designed as a multiplatform event.” [UUWorld]

Little Change in Arlington’s Rate of Covid Cases Over Past Two Weeks

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Arlington’s average rate of new daily Covid cases has plateaued over the past two weeks.

The seven-day moving average currently stands at about 32-33 daily cases. It’s remained around that level, give or take two cases per day, since Aug. 9. The plateau followed a month-long rise in cases since the beginning of July, fueled by the more contagious Delta variant.

One new death and only one new Covid-related hospitalization have been reported over the past week, since Aug. 16.

Though the case average has held fairly steady, the 47 new cases reported on Sunday, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, represent the highest one-day total since 57 cases were reported on April 9.

With reports of break-through cases among the vaccinated becoming more common, Arlington County last week started offering third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna to certain immunocompromised individuals. The county expects to offer booster shots to the general public later next month, as proposed by the Biden administration.

The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, announced today that it has granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine. It was previously offered under an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.

With the full approval, the Dept. of Defense says it is planning to make vaccinations mandatory for U.S. service members.

Though it’s hard to predict what will happen with Arlington’s Covid case rate, there is some cause for optimism. In Florida, hard hit by the Delta wave, cases appear to be peaking or falling in many parts of the state.

Arlington County Now Offering Vaccine Booster Shots to Eligible Individuals

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) A day after declaring that vaccine booster shots were “not currently available,” Arlington started offering them.

“On Tuesday, August 17, Arlington County Public Health will begin offering an additional, or third, dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) to certain immunocompromised people,” Arlington County announced yesterday in a press release. “This follows FDA’s amended Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and the CDC’s adoption of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation.”

The vaccine booster shots are only available to those who attest that they qualify for them due to being moderately or severely immunocompromised. Those receiving the shots must also have already received two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, with the last dose administered at least four weeks ago.

While currently restricted to only certain vulnerable individuals, booster shots are set to become widely available — and encouraged — this fall.

From NBC News:

Top U.S. health officials announced Wednesday that the country has developed a plan to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to all Americans beginning the third week of September, citing evidence that protection is waning not only against hospitalization and death, but also mild and moderate infections, as the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread.

Arlington County, meanwhile, has been upgraded to an area of “high” community spread of COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The local transmission rate was deemed “substantial” by the CDC a couple of weeks ago.

As of Tuesday, neighboring Fairfax County and Alexandria were still seeing only “substantial” community transmission, a lower classification than “high,” according to the CDC website.

Arlington is recording about 33 new cases per day, or 14 daily cases per 100,000 residents, according to a 7-day moving average published this morning by Virginia Dept. of Health.

More on the booster shots, below, from the Arlington County press release.

People who are immunocompromised should speak to their healthcare provider to help decide if they would benefit from an additional dose. Moderately to severely immunocompromised people include those who have:

  • Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
  • Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
  • Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
  • Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
  • Advanced or untreated HIV infection
  • Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response
  • Individuals will be asked to self-attest (confirm) as having a qualifying condition at the time of vaccination.

Bring your vaccination card with you so your provider can fill in the information about your additional dose. Keep your vaccination card in case you need it for future use and consider taking a picture of your vaccination card as a backup copy.

At this time, an additional dose of vaccine is not approved for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or people who are fully vaccinated and not immunocompromised. The FDA and CDC continue to review evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of an additional dose for these individuals.

Arlington County encourages everyone 12 and older to get a COVID-19 vaccine, especially those who are immunocompromised or have close contact with immunocompromised persons. Arlington County Public Health Division (ACPHD) will only be offering additional doses for moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals at the Arlington Mill Community Center and Walter Reed Community Center clinics; they will not be available at field missions or “pop-up” events at this time.

Free walk-in and scheduled appointments are available at ACPHD’s clinics. Additional opportunities can be found at vaccines.gov; confirm with individual providers the availability of additional, or third, doses.

Arlington Is Seeing ‘Substantial’ Community Transmission of Virus, CDC Says

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County has reached a “substantial” amount of community transmission, according to the CDC, amid a national “surge” in Covid cases.

As the highly contagious delta variant of the virus spreads and sets new records, Arlington is not being spared. But the county is still well below this past winter’s high water marks in terms of cases and hospitalizations.

As of this morning, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported a seven-day moving average of 25 new cases per day in Arlington, the highest point since mid-April. On Friday alone 37 new cases were reported, the highest one-day total in more than three months.

The county’s test positivity rate, now 2.7%, has also hit a three-month high.

As of Friday, the cumulative number of Covid-related hospitalizations in Arlington during the pandemic reached 873, up four in two weeks. No new deaths were reported during that time period.

Even in the instance of “breakthrough” infections among those who were previously fully vaccinated, experts say COVID-19 vaccines are providing effective protection against serious complications from the virus.

More than 70% of adults in Arlington have received at least one vaccine dose, while nearly 64% are fully vaccinated, according to VDH data.

In an email on Friday, Arlington’s public health division said those who are not yet fully vaccinated are “strongly” encouraged to do so. The county health department is also urging residents to avoid indoor gatherings and to wear a mask in public. So far, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has not instituted a new mask mandate.

Following an increasing trend of COVID-19 cases in the community, Arlington County is experiencing substantial community transmission of COVID-19, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All jurisdictions immediately surrounding Arlington are also experiencing either moderate or substantial community COVID-19 transmission.

To reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the County recommends following updated guidance from CDC, which advises the general public to wear a mask in public indoor settings with people outside of your home bubble, in areas with either substantial or high transmission.

“In addition to masking per CDC guidance, we strongly encourage our residents who are not vaccinated to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Reuben Varghese, Arlington County Health Director.  “Vaccination is the most important public health action to end the COVID-19 pandemic and keep our community open. Getting fully vaccinated significantly reduces the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death, even with the Delta variant.”

The Arlington County Public Health Division also reminds residents that using multiple layers of protection is an effective and commonsense way to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread in our community. Layered actions you can take include:

  • Choosing outdoor gatherings over indoor gatherings
  • Getting tested when symptomatic and staying at home
  • Wearing a mask and physically distancing
  • Washing hands often
  • Getting a COVID-19 vaccine
  • COVID-19 testing and vaccines are offered at no cost at locations throughout the County.

Find a vaccine site near you at vaccines.gov.

Visit arlingtonva.us/covid-19 or call 703-228-7999 for additional information.

President Biden, meanwhile, said this morning that the U.S. is “prepared to deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases like never before.”

Coronavirus Cases Still Rising in Arlington Amid Renewed Focus on Masks

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) Earlier this summer, new coronavirus cases were reaching new lows. Now cases remain on the rise across the county, Commonwealth and the country.

In Arlington today another 18 cases were reported, bringing the seven-day trailing average up to 16 cases per day, the highest point since May 5.

Thanks to vaccinations, serious complications from Covid remain at relatively low levels. Over the past two months, two Covid-related deaths and 20 new hospitalizations have been reported in Arlington.

But the more contagious Delta variant of the virus is in some cases infecting even those who have been fully vaccinated. A new metric published by the Virginia Dept. of Health reports 1,377 known “breakthrough” cases, resulting in 114 hospitalizations and 37 deaths.

“Over 99% of COVID-19 cases in Virginia have occurred in people who were not fully vaccinated,” State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver was quoted as saying in a county press release Tuesday. “I continue to encourage everyone who is able to get vaccinated to do so.”

Arlington’s health department has now administered more than 150,000 vaccine doses, the press release notes.

“As of Monday (July 26), the Arlington County Public Health Division has given more than 150,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses!” the county said. “Overall in Arlington, a total of 264,500 doses have been administered and 132,000+ people are fully vaccinated. The vaccines are free, safe and still the best protection against COVID-19.”

As cases rise, talk of mask and vaccine-related requirements have heated up in recent days.

Students at Montgomery County and Fairfax County public schools will be required to wear masks inside schools this fall regardless of vaccination status, the school systems announced this week. Arlington Public Schools has yet to make a formal announcement of its mask policy for the fall; Virginia is strongly recommending that all elementary school students, teachers and staff wear masks.

President Biden is expected to announce tomorrow that all federal employees must be vaccinated or face “repeated testing mandates,” the Washington Post reports. Fairfax County is also mulling a vaccination requirement for its municipal employees.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, updated its mask guidance yesterday to recommend that even vaccinated people wear masks in indoor, public settings where prevalence of the virus is elevated. There is some disagreement among experts as to whether the mask guidance will make a substantial difference in combating the spread of the virus, in part because many are likely to ignore the guidance.

Covid Cases Continue to Tick Up in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

The rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington hit a fresh summer high today.

New Covid cases remain low relative to earlier in the pandemic, but rose to a seven-day trailing average of nine cases per day today, after 13 new cases were reported.

That’s the highest point since May 13.

Virginia Dept. of Health data also shows the county’s test positivity rate hitting 2% today, for the first time since May 9.

The more contagious Delta variant of the virus is skyrocketing in prevalence in the United States and is even infecting those who were fully vaccinated in some cases. Vaccines still offer protection against infection, however, and serious illness or death is rare among vaccinated individuals who get infected.

At Tuesday’s Arlington County Board meeting, Arlington Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese said that infections, hospitalizations and Covid-related deaths remain relatively low.

From the Sun Gazette:

Despite a recent uptick, “we are still at the lowest level of cases since June 2020,” Dr. Reuben Varghese told County Board members, with weekly reported cases among county residents running at approximately 5 percent of the level recorded at the height of the pandemic. […]

He noted that among the county residents vaccinated who nonetheless ended up with COVID, just three – or 0.07 percent – became so sick they needed hospitalization.

“It happens, but it is extremely rare,” he said.

Varghese also noted that the state health department may be undercounting the number of vaccinated individuals in Arlington.

VDH currently pegs the percentage of the county’s adult population who have received at least one vaccine dose at just under 70%. Varghese said adding in Arlington residents who were vaccinated in D.C. or Maryland could bump that up to around 76%.

Morning Poll: Should Kids Wear Masks in Elementary Schools?

By ARLnow.com
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam sits in on a lesson in Mr. Foster’s class at Barcroft Elementary School during a visit Monday morning (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Virginia is “strongly” recommending that all elementary students, staff and teachers wear masks indoors this fall.

The guidance from the state health and education departments, which is not binding, recommends requiring masks until “there has been sufficient time to allow for children [under 12] to be fully vaccinated,” the Washington Post reported.

The recommendation comes amid an increase in cases nationally, and a much smaller uptick here in Arlington, fueled by the more contagious Delta variant of the virus.

The latest guidance from Arlington Public Schools suggests masks will be required for everybody inside schools in the fall, as has been the case this summer. But the APS mandates could change in light of the new state guidance, which also recommends that fully vaccinated middle- and high school students be allowed to go maskless inside.

What do you think of local elementary kids wearing masks this fall inside schools?

New Covid Cases Remain Low in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

The net count of coronavirus cases in Arlington has barely budged over the past 2 to 3 weeks.

On May 22, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported a cumulative total of 15,289 cases in Arlington over the course of the pandemic. Today, June 9, that number is 15,290, after five cases were removed overnight.

The removal of cases is due to suspected cases that later test negative being subtracted from the total, a county spokeswoman previously told ARLnow. Excluding the removed cases, Arlington County has seen just a couple of new cases per day over the past few weeks.

The current test positivity rate in the county is just 0.6%, according to VDH.

Covid-related hospitalizations, meanwhile, are low but still happening. Two have been reported over the past week, for a pandemic total of 854. One new death was reported on Monday, the first nearly three weeks, bringing Arlington’s total of reported Covid fatalities to 257.

In terms of vaccinations, the average daily vaccination rate in the county has hovered around 1,000 doses over the past week or so. Roughly 55% of eligible Arlington residents — those age 12 and over — are now fully vaccinated. About two-thirds of eligible residents have received at least one dose.

More than 240,000 doses total have been administered in the county, a number that excludes anyone vaccinated directly by a federal government agency, like the Dept. of Defense.

With the vaccination rate high and the case rate low, ARLnow has decided to discontinue our daily, independent recording of local Covid data, which we started in March 2020.

Each day we’ve put the latest Covid stats reported by the state — including, as of January, vaccinations — in an Excel spreadsheet. That has allowed us to create certain charts and perform some analyses not available to someone relying on VDH’s cumulative datasets.

We reported on the latest data on a daily basis during the peak of the pandemic, and have done so on a weekly basis more recently. Given the low infection rate, however, we will be stopping our independent data collection and regular reporting after today. Instead, we’ll report periodically on the latest numbers in the context of other local Covid-related news, utilizing VDH datasets and charts. Should the numbers rise significantly later this year, for whatever reason, we may resume more frequent reporting.

UPDATED: Arlington’s Coronavirus Case Count Is Going Backwards

By ARLnow.com

Arlington hasn’t just seen a drop in new coronavirus cases, it has seen its cumulative number of cases go backwards over the past few days.

On Friday, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported a total of 15,285 cases in Arlington over the course of the pandemic. Today, that same figure was 15,284, for a net negative number of new cases over that time span, according to VDH data.

So what’s going on?

“This is a routine part of data cleanup in cases that were deemed probable, but ended up not being a confirmed case,” explained Arlington County spokeswoman Jessica Baxter. “These cases are subtracted in the data.”

A net of only five new cases have been reported in Arlington over the past seven days — the lowest point since March 15, 2020, at the very outset of the pandemic.

The last time a positive total of new daily cases was reported was this past Saturday, May 22. Since then, the daily case totals have been 0, -2, 0 and -3. But that doesn’t tell the whole story: there are, in fact, new cases being reported.

“There have been 10 new cases reported since May 22,” Baxter confirmed this afternoon. That suggests that the actual seven-day rate of new cases is still relatively low but higher than reported: 20.

That is still a fraction of what the case rate in January, when more than 850 cases were reported over the course of just one week. Behind the dramatic drop: a dramatic rise in vaccinations.

As of this past weekend 63% of Arlington residents ages 12+ had received at least one vaccine dose, according to the county, which has a 70% vaccination goal.

Nearly 225,000 vaccine doses have been administered in Arlington as of this morning, according to VDH, while 104,531 people have been fully vaccinated — more than half of Arlington’s population ages 12 and up. Just under 2,000 vaccine doses are still being administered daily, on average.

The local vaccine counts from the state health department exclude those administered by federal agencies like the Dept. of Defense, which means that an even higher percentage of Arlington’s population is vaccinated than is being reported by VDH.

Update at 1:35 p.m. on 5/27/21 — Arlington’s trailing seven-day case total has now gone negative (-2), after another day of past probable cases being removed from the data.

Image (top) via Virginia Dept. of Health

JUST IN: Local Coronavirus Cases Reach Lowest Point Since July As CDC Reveals New Mask Guidance

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4 p.m.) A total of 75 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Arlington over the past week, after four straight days of single-digit case counts.

That’s the lowest trailing seven-day case total since July 26, 2020, and the first four-day streak of single-digit cases since late June 2020. It comes as new COVID-19 cases are declining in 37 states, including Virginia, while no states are seeing rising cases.

“America’s battle against the coronavirus is going great,” Axios reported today. “The U.S. is finally winning its battle against COVID-19 thanks almost exclusively to one weapon: the vaccines.”

In Arlington, nearly 200,000 vaccine doses have been administered and 86,534 people are now fully vaccinated, according to the latest Virginia Dept. of Health data.

About 52% of the overall county population has received at least one dose. Just over 2,000 doses are being administered each day, on average, though that figure has fallen from a peak of more than 3,500 daily doses in late April.

Starting Saturday, the county will offer free vaccinations to children ages 12-15, who are newly eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

“This is a critical milestone in our pandemic response. We encourage all parents to get their children vaccinated when they become eligible,” Arlington Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese said in a press release Wednesday. “The vaccine is the best form of protection against COVID-19. The more people protected, the better it is for ourselves and for our community.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, announced new mask recommendations this afternoon, advising that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks or physically distance indoors or outdoors, in most circumstances.

“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

A spokeswoman said Arlington County is waiting for additional guidance from the state before making any changes in response to the CDC.

“We are reviewing the newly-released CDC recommendations while also awaiting guidance from the Virginia Department of Health,” county spokeswoman Jessica Baxter told ARLnow.

Despite the good news, incidents of serious illness from Covid infections have not let up. Seven Covid-related hospitalizations have been reported in Arlington over the past week, including two new hospitalizations today.

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