Smartphones buzzed Monday morning with an emergency alert from Virginia health officials: All Virginians age 16 and older are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, a group that includes about 3 million people.
Gov. Ralph Northam called the news an “exciting new phase” for the state’s vaccination program against the COVID-19 virus 14 months after it began to spread around Virginia.
“It may take a few weeks to get appointments for everyone. Not everyone can get a shot today or even this week,” Northam said Monday afternoon at a mass vaccination site in McLean. “But I’m confident that every adult in Virginia who wants to vaccine can get their first shot by the end of May.”
Expanded vaccine eligibility in Virginia and across the country follows four months of vaccinations limited to elderly Virginians, essential workers and those with pre-existing health conditions — most of whom have received their doses. As the state moves into broader eligibility, any vulnerable Virginians who still haven’t been vaccinated will be prioritized, state officials said.
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Nearly half of all adults in Virginia have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, about 40% of the state’s population. One in four are fully vaccinated.
Northam said reaching herd immunity will require vaccinating 70 to 75% of the population, which will include some children. Northam said he expects to begin vaccinations among children 12 and up this summer if ongoing clinical trials prove successful.
The state reported fewer than 1,000 cases on Monday, and a positivity rate of 6% — low compared with a post-holiday peak of nearly 20%. The positivity rate, which state officials use to guide public restrictions, is the share of positive COVID-19 cases among everyone tested.
“We’re making a few small tweaks to guidelines. We’ll have more to say about that in the coming weeks,” Northam said Monday.
For now, Northam and other public officials said Monday that the state will focus on increasing or maintaining demand for the COVID-19 vaccine across the state.
Difference in demand
Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator, said lesser demand in some rural parts of the state has led officials to redistribute allocated vaccines to Northern Virginia and the Richmond area, where demand continues to outpace supply.
“We knew that there was going to be a difference in the demand in places like Northern Virginia versus more rural Virginia, but it’s been pretty stark,” Avula said.
Overall demand in the state still outpaces supply, but public officials said Monday that it is enough to vaccinate nearly all adults by the summer. President Joe Biden had assured the nation that life may start to return to normalcy by the Fourth of July.
The state’s vaccine supply took a hit when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said it was recommending states stop using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine amid reports of blood clots. The federal committee studying the vaccine is expected to meet on Friday to make a decision on the future of the vaccine in the U.S.
Avula said the state anticipates receiving enough of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines this week for 220,000 people to get their first shot, which he said will remain steady moving forward as production capabilities for those vaccines maxes out. If vaccinations with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine resume, weekly immunizations could go up by 100,000.
“The allotment that we’re getting of both the Moderna and Pfizer will allow us to, I believe, comfortably get all adults vaccinated by mid to late May,” Northam added.
The news conference included statements from public officials, and advocates in Spanish and Korean who highlighted lower vaccination rates among non-white Virginians. The state said that it has added 250 additional agents to its vaccine hotline, 10% of whom speak both English and Spanish. Virginians who speak a different language can call the hotline to request translation services in over 100 languages.
The broader vaccination pool will include a larger share of young, healthy people. Northam encouraged those Virginians to become vaccinated as soon as possible to “protect their neighbors, friends and family.”
Public restrictions
Northam also announced two small changes to the state’s COVID-19 public restrictions:
- Cross country events will be allowed to have 68 runners at the starting line instead of 50.
- Performances, like drama and musicals, will be reclassified as athletic events rather than social events. That will allow schools to increase capacity indoors to 100 people or 30% of the venue’s capacity. Outdoor event capacity will increase to 500 people or 30% of the space’s capacity. All social gatherings are currently limited to 50 individuals indoors and 100 individuals outdoors.