RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Dr. Danny Avula, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, and Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas provided the state with an update on COVID-19 vaccinations during a visit to a mass vaccination site in Richmond.
The vaccination event at Richmond Raceway was closed to the general public; all individuals eligible to receive vaccines at the event have been preregistered by their localities or departments.
“We’re saving lives here today, and it is incredible to see it in action,” Avula said. “This is a phenomenal example of collaboration.”
According to the Virginia Department of Health, as of Wednesday, 39,458 have been fully vaccinated. A total of 320,593 people have been administered their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We have been in a long dark tunnel for now 10-plus months,” Northam said. “And so this vaccination is literally the light and the hope at the end of that tunnel. If we all continue to work together we can get there.”
A majority of the people fully vaccinated are in the 30-39 age group.
Compared to other states, Virginia is lagging behind when it comes to getting residents vaccinated.
Avula said about 400,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered out of 900,000 doses distributed. He also said about 226,000 of those doses have been earmarked for CVS and Walgreens pharmacies to administer to residents and staff in long-term care facilities as part of the federal pharmacy partnership.
Last week, the governor asked local health districts to ramp up vaccinations. The governor also set an ambitious goal to vaccinate 50,000 Virginians per day after the top priority groups have gotten their shots. Right now, Virginia averages 18,740 shots per day, and the current goal is to get that number up to 25,000 a day.
“We set those type of goals so that we can get Virginians vaccinated by early to mid-summer and finally get this pandemic behind us,” Northam said.
- The Virginia Department of Health has reported an increase of 892 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the Commonwealth to 586,592.
- The envy and moral judgements about whether others deserve to be prioritized are understandable and could reflect anxieties about being able to get vaccines for ourselves or our loved ones
- Richmond and Henrico Health Districts are including restaurant workers in Phase 1b.
- If you've pre-registered for a COVID-19 vaccine through the Virginia Department of Health, but are still awaiting a shot, then you may need to update your information on the website.
- Some patients diagnosed with COVID-19 may experience an odd symptom: rash-like inflammation of the toes.
- The Virginia Department of Health is reporting 1,477 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, with 91 new deaths. The state's positivity rate remains at 6.3%.
- Many Virginians are anxiously awaiting their chance to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The best way to ensure the state knows you want your shot is to pre-register on the Vaccinate Virginia website.
- Some Virginia residents are raising concerns about COVID-19 vaccination scheduling. They told 8News, they're worried that there could be a potential to miss an opportunity for an appointment, as the Department of Health is reaching out through unknown numbers.
- Some New York lawmakers are calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's impeachment after reports late Thursday that his top aides altered a state Health Department report to omit the true number of people killed by COVID-19 in the state's nursing homes.
- A total of 763,439 people have been fully vaccinated in Virginia. According to the most recent Census data, there are 8,535,519 people living in the state.
