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COVID roundup: AG says Va. public colleges can require vaccine

As more Virginians get vaccinated, the attorney general has issued an opinion concluding that the state’s public colleges and universities can require COVID-19 vaccinations for in-person attendance this fall — although it remains up to individual institutions.

“There is no question that the General Assembly could enact a statute requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for in-person school attendance,” Attorney Gen. Mark Herring wrote in the opinion released Monday. Also, the state’s health commissioner, Dr. Norman Oliver, has “the power of ‘requiring immediate immunization of all persons in case of an epidemic of any disease of public health importance for which a vaccine exists other than a person to whose health the administration of a vaccine would be detrimental as certified in writing by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this commonwealth.’”

Issued at the request of Del. Mark Keam, D-Fairfax County, the opinion says that colleges and universities that do require vaccines “should be prepared to provide reasonable accommodations for medical conditions and/or religious objections.” In recent weeks, some universities in the U.S. have announced a vaccine mandate, including Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown, American and George Washington universities, but so far no Virginia-based schools have followed suit.

As of Monday, 3.6 million Virginians have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 2.4 million are fully vaccinated, according to the Virginia Department of Health. And after a nearly two-week nationwide pause, state health care providers are now administering Johnson & Johnson vaccines again.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced last week that he plans to lift more restrictions beginning May 15, including allowing 250 people to gather at outdoor events and 100 people indoors, as well as higher attendance at entertainment venues and sporting events. Restaurants also will be able to sell and serve alcohol after midnight.

Also, many individual health districts are making efforts to simplify the process of making a vaccination appointment, now that the entire state is in phase 2, in which all Virginians age 16 and older are now eligible for the vaccine. There are outreach events, walk-in clinics and more information available in multiple languages.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted their pause on the use of the J&J vaccine since April 12, when the federal agencies said they needed to further investigate a rare blood clot that affected six women days after they received the one-dose vaccine, including one Virginia woman who died.

Virginia vaccine coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said in a statement Friday that Virginia would begin allowing VDH administrators to resume using the vaccine and that other providers would be notified they can use the vaccine. “This extra scrutiny should instill confidence in the system that is in place to guarantee COVID-19 vaccine safety,” Avula said. “As with any vaccine, we encourage individuals to educate themselves on any potential side effects and to weigh that against the possibility of hospitalization or death from COVID-19.”

Vaccination in Va.

Statewide, 42.9% of the population — 3,664,745 people — have received at least one dose, while 2,445,766 people or 28.7% of the state’s population are fully vaccinated as of Monday, and the state is administering 74,315 doses per day.

Although there are exceptions in which communities are allowing walk-in vaccination, appointments are still required at most clinics. All adult residents of Virginia can now register to get vaccinated at vaccinate.virginia.gov or call (877) VAX-IN-VA, or (877) 829-4682.

Statewide spread

Over the past week, the state recorded 7,818 new COVID-19 cases, a decrease from the previous week, which saw 10,249 cases, and 111 people died last week of virus-related causes, VDH reported. The previous week, there were 109 COVID fatalities. As of Monday, the state has reported 654,929 total cases and 10,706 deaths, and the current seven-day positivity rate is 5.4%, down 0.7% from last week.

The state now ranks 14th in the nation for percentage of vaccine doses administered, according to CDC data analyzed by Becker’s Hospital Review.

According to the University of Virginia’s COVID-19 model, the state continues to see cases climb, especially new viral variants, and Virginia may see cases peak again in early July if residents loosen prevention measures, researchers say. The model predicts a peak of 58,716 cases in the week ending July 11.

As of April 21, Lord Fairfax Health District, in the northwestern part of the state, is seeing a surge in cases, defined as “sustained rapid growth and exceeds recent inflection points.” Districts experiencing slow growth include: Alleghany, Central Shenandoah, Mount Rogers, New River, Rappahannock, Virginia Beach and Western Tidewater.

As of April 22, Mount Rogers has a seven-day positivity rate of 10%, down from 10.1% on April 15. The rest of the state’s health districts now have rates below 10%.

State demographics

With race and ethnicity information available for only 58.8% of people who have received shots in the state, the majority of shots have been received by white, non-Hispanic people — 63.2% as of Monday, according to VDH. Black Virginians have received 14.0% of shots, although they make up 19.9% of the state’s population, according to 2019 estimates by the U.S. Census; 10.7% of vaccines were given to Latino residents, who comprise about 9.8% of Virginians.

State health officials have focused attention on equitable administration of vaccinations, especially as Latino and Black residents are heavily represented among people who have been infected, hospitalized and died from the coronavirus. Among Virginia’s COVID deaths for which ethnicity and race were recorded, 24.8% were Black, and 6.3% were Latino.

National and global news

Globally, there are 147.3 million reported COVID-19 cases and 3,112,019 confirmed deaths, as of April 26. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 32 million confirmed cases so far, with 572,201 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February 2020. According to the CDC, 139.9 million U.S. residents have received at least one vaccine dose, or 42.2% of the nation’s population, and 94.7 million people, or 28.5% of the U.S. population, are fully vaccinated.

Although a billion shots have been given worldwide, some countries — most notably India — are currently experiencing surges in new cases. According to The New York Times’ COVID tracker, the seven-day global daily average hit 774,404 on Sunday, a 34,000 increase from the last worldwide surge in January. The United States has lifted a ban on the export of raw materials for vaccine production, and the Biden administration said it will supply India with test kits, therapeutics, ventilators and protective gear.

Northam: State to loosen more restrictions May 15

Beginning May 15, the state will loosen more restrictions, including allowing larger social gatherings and expanded audiences for entertainment venues and sporting events, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a video message released Thursday. Restaurants will also be allowed to resume serving alcohol after midnight.

Northam’s amendments to his pandemic executive orders, which take effect May 15, include:

Increased social gatherings. The maximum number of people allowed at social gatherings will increase from 100 to 250 people for outdoors settings and from 50 to 100 people for indoor settings.
Greater attendance at entertainment venues. Indoor entertainment venues such as movie theaters will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity or 1,000 people, up from 30% capacity or 500 people. Outdoor entertainment venues such as theme parks will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity with no cap on attendees.
More spectators allowed at recreational sporting events. Outdoor sporting events will increase from 500 to 1,000 people or 50% capacity, whichever is less. The number of spectators allowed at indoor recreational sporting events will increase from 100 to 250 spectators or 50% capacity, whichever is less.
Restaurants can resume alcohol sales after midnight. Establishments will not be required to close dining rooms from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Earlier in the week, Northam expanded access to bar seating for the first time in more than a year and also increased attendance limitations on cross-country events and school-based fine arts performances.

“It’s good news that half of all adults in Virginia have gotten a shot so far,” Northam said. “Vaccination numbers are up, and our COVID-19 case numbers are substantially lower than they were earlier this year. So, we have been able to begin easing some mitigation measures. We took a few more targeted steps this week, and we will do more next month. I’m optimistic that we will be able to take more steps in June.

“We are working to significantly ramp up vaccinations even further and aim to reduce capacity limits in June, hopefully all the way. But some things need to continue — we all need to keep wearing masks, social distancing and encouraging each other to get a shot. It’s how we take care of one another.”

More than 5.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Virginia and 3.5 million Virginians — 41% of the population — have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, the Virginia Department of Health reported Thursday. All Virginians ages 16 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine.

Va. jobless claims up 173% from last week

For the April 13-17 filing week, 13,751 Virginians submitted initial unemployment claims, a 173% increase from the previous week, but an 83% decrease from this time a year ago when jobless claims were near a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week’s new claims rose by 8,717 compared to those from the week ending April 10, when 5,034 people filed, according to the Virginia Employment Commission’s Thursday report.

The number of continued claims filed last week — 55,273 — dropped by 2,098 from the previous week. This week a year ago, 297,993 continued claims were filed, 82% higher than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in the accommodation/food service, administrative and waste services, retail trade and health care and social assistance industries, according to the VEC.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.

Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending April 17:

Fairfax County, 890
Virginia Beach, 654
Prince William County, 646
Richmond, 646
Norfolk, 606
Alexandria, 504
Loudoun County, 363
Portsmouth, 363
Newport News, 334
Henrico County, 323

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 547,000, a decrease of 39,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 4,221,556 initial claims during the same week last year.

Bar seating reopened statewide, governor declares

For the first time in more than a year, Virginians are now allowed to sit at bars for service as long as they stay at least six feet apart.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam amended Executive Order 72 on Wednesday without an announcement, making the following policy change for restaurants, breweries, distilleries, wineries and tasting rooms: “Congregating areas of restaurants must be closed to patrons except for through-traffic. Patrons may be seated at the bar for service, provided a minimum of six feet is provided between parties.”

Northam has loosened some restrictions on gatherings in recent weeks — including allowing higher attendance at sporting events and amusement parks, as well as boosting the number of people allowed at private gatherings, up to 100 people at outdoor events, as of April 1.

Although the spread of the coronavirus continues, with 650,981 total cases and 10,653 deaths statewide, the positivity rate in Virginia has remained relatively steady for several weeks and is now at 5.9%, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Meanwhile, 3.5 million Virginians — 41% of the population — have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, VDH reported Thursday. Northam said in recent weeks that he will continue lifting restrictions as long as the coronavirus’ spread stays under control, with further loosening of restrictions expected by early May.

Bars have been a major area of concern for Northam and public health officials, who have maintained that community spread of the virus is a high risk in bars as people gather in close quarters and lose inhibitions about keeping their distance due to alcohol use.

The Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association estimated earlier this month that about one in five restaurants across the state have closed permanently during the pandemic, and many others are struggling financially due to continued restrictions.

Va. hotel revenues up 12% in March

Virginia hotel revenues for March 2021 increased by 12% compared with March 2020, according to data released Tuesday by STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry.

During the same period, rooms sold went up by 25%. The average daily rate (ADR) paid for hotel rooms dropped 10% to $85.59, while revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose to $42.80, a 13% increase.

“Performance of the hotels in the commonwealth during March 2021 was in general much better than in February 2021,” Professor Vinod Agarwal of Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy said in a statement. “With increasing vaccinations, declining COVID-19 infections and rising consumer confidence, we have begun to see significant improvement in the performance of the hotel industry over the 2020 levels and we expect these improvements to continue each month through the end of 2021.”

Hotel revenues and rooms sold increased in most markets during March 2021, compared with March 2020, as the COVID pandemic took hold in the commonwealth. Revenues fell 32% in the Northern Virginia market, but they rose 69% in Charlottesville and 42% in Hampton Roads. In February, revenues fell 63% in Northern Virginia, 24% in Charlottesville and 17% in Hampton Roads. The number of rooms sold during March 2021 fell by 4% in Northern Virginia but increased by 67% in Charlottesville and 62% in the Hampton Roads market. The Virginia Beach area fared better than other markets, with a 100% increase in hotel revenue, followed closely by 93% in Williamsburg.

COVID roundup: Va. now offering vaccines to everyone age 16+

All Virginians age 16 and up are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, which you may have heard Monday morning in a loud public safety alert sent to smartphones by the Virginia Department of Health.

All U.S. states met President Joe Biden’s April 19 deadline to expand vaccine eligibility for all adults, regardless of job, age or health status, and half of all adults in the country — 131 million people — have received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Virginia, 39.9% of the population — 3.4 million people, a little more than half of all adults in the state — have gotten at least one shot, and 25% of the population is fully vaccinated. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine remains on pause while federal authorities study the cause of blood clots that affected six women, killing one in Virginia, days after they received the J&J shot. After CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration called April 12 for a pause in administration of the one-dose vaccine, Virginia and the rest of the U.S. immediately stopped using it.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Sunday he expects a decision on the vaccine to be handed down by an advisory group of CDC officials by Friday.

“Today, our message is simple: If you’re an adult, you should get a shot,” Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday afternoon at a COVID news briefing at the new Tysons Community Vaccination Center in Fairfax County. “However you’re able to get an appointment, please get vaccinated. Vaccinations are the only way to get back to normal.”

He was accompanied by U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, who noted that the pandemic has now been in Virginia for 57 weeks and urged all adults to get vaccinated. “We are on the verge of getting this virus licked,” he said.

Although there are exceptions in which communities are allowing walk-in vaccination, appointments are still required at most places. All adult residents of Virginia can now register to get vaccinated at vaccinate.virginia.gov or call (877) VAX-IN-VA, or (877) 829-4682.

Over the past week, the state recorded 10,249 new COVID-19 cases, a small decrease from the previous week, which saw 10,691 cases, and 109 people died last week of virus-related causes, VDH reported. As of Monday, the state has reported 647,111 total cases and 10,595 deaths, and the current seven-day positivity rate is 6.1%, the same as last week.

The state now ranks 14th in the nation for percentage of vaccine doses administered, according to CDC data analyzed by Becker’s Hospital Review.

According to the University of Virginia’s COVID-19 model, three health districts — Mount Rogers in Southwest Virginia, Rappahannock Rapidan in the northwestern part of the state, and Alexandria — are currently seeing a surge in COVID cases, defined as “sustained rapid growth and exceeds recent inflection points.” Districts experiencing slow growth include: Eastern Shore, Henrico County, Lenowisco, Loudoun County, Lord Fairfax, Norfolk, Prince William County, Rappahannock, Richmond and Western Tidewater.

With race and ethnicity information available for only 59.6% of people who have received shots in the state, the majority of shots have been received by white, non-Hispanic people — 64.3% as of Monday, according to VDH. Black Virginians have received 14.1% of shots, although they make up 19.9% of the state’s population, according to 2019 estimates by the U.S. Census; 9.8% of vaccines were given to Latino residents, who comprise about 9.8% of Virginians.

As of April 15, the following health districts have positivity rates of 10% or higher:

Hampton — 10.7%, down from 10.9% on April 9
Portsmouth — 10.4%, up from 9.9%
Chesapeake — 10.2%, up from 9.6%
Mount Rogers —10.1%, down from 14.2%

Globally, there are 141.5 million reported COVID-19 cases and 3,022,265 confirmed deaths, as of April 19. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 31.6 million confirmed cases so far, with 567,233 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February 2020. According to the CDC, 131.2 million U.S. residents have received at least one vaccine dose, or 39.5% of the nation’s population, and 84.2 million people, or 25.4% of the U.S. population, are fully vaccinated.

VEDP, Martinsville receive $3.9M in federal grants

The city of Martinsville and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership have been awarded $3.9 million in federal CARES Act grants to boost economic development during the downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Thursday.

Martinsville will receive a $3 million grant from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to expand its sanitary sewer service, and $750,000 in local matching funds will be added to the project. The project is expected to create 400 jobs, save 3,500 jobs and generate $25 million in private investments, according to a department news release.

VEDP will receive a $960,000 grant to address the needs of developers in Virginia and nearby states, in an effort to attract businesses to the state. The grants are part of $1.5 billion allocated to the EDA in the federal CARES Act passed last year, funding that is being administered under the commerce department’s Economic Adjustment Assistance program.

“Virginia is emerging very strong from the pandemic, with unemployment dropping and revenue rising,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “These grants will help supercharge our efforts to help families and businesses participate in a broad-based, equitable recovery. It’s good to have partners in Washington who believe in investment, infrastructure and planning for the future.”

Va. new unemployment claims fall 466% from previous week

About 5,000 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 10, a 95% decrease from this time a year ago when jobless claims were near their peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week’s 5,034 new claims were 466% lower than the previous week’s, when 28,526 people filed, according to the Virginia Employment Commission’s Thursday report.

The number of continued claims filed last week — 57,371 — stayed close to the same number as the previous week, 57,344, although much lower than this time last year, when 236,791 people filed continued unemployment claims.

People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.

According to The Associated Press, five women have sued the head of the VEC for delayed unemployment payments, as well as postponed adjudication of grievances and nonresponses to applications for benefits. A few weeks ago, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner wrote a letter urging Gov. Ralph Northam to speed up payment of benefits to Virginia unemployment claimants after the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which includes compensation for long-term unemployed people, self-employed people and gig workers. Warner said in the letter that constituents were calling his office with complaints.

Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending April 10:

Fairfax County, 318
Richmond, 255
Virginia Beach, 249
Norfolk, 195
Prince William County, 191
Alexandria, 184
Newport News, 137
Loudoun County, 134
Chesapeake, 119
Hampton, 105
Henrico County, 101

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 576,000, a decrease of 193,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 4,897,867 initial claims during the same week last year.

Fed says Fifth District economy shows moderate growth

The economy has grown “moderately” in recent weeks, with strong production increases, employment rising and consumer spending up in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District, which includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland, according to the latest edition of the Fed’s Beige Book, released Wednesday.

The Beige Book, which is published eight times a year, reflects economic conditions based on anecdotal information gathered from the 12 Federal Reserve Banks about economic conditions in the Fed districts.

Manufacturers are reporting robust growth and demand to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, citing production challenges because of labor constraints, shipping delays and material shortages. Trucking volumes remain at “near-record high levels” and ports are seeing “strong increases in shipping volumes.”

In an industry hit hard by the pandemic, tourism and travel are growing modestly, according to the report, with outdoor attractions and beach destinations popular. Restaurants said they hope warmer weather will bring more outdoor diners.

Retailers are seeing traffic increase, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into sales for clothing stores. Food and home goods are in high demand.

In real estate, demand for homes and a decrease in inventory have houses selling fast — some “within hours,” according to the report. But commercial real estate leasing remained below pre-pandemic levels. Demand for industrial real estate was strong, the report noted.

The new round of Paycheck Protection Program loans has led to modest growth in business lending, according to the report, and new stimulus payments created strong deposit growth for banks. Loan activity has grown moderately.

Employment is increasing modestly, according to the report, but recruitment and turnover is a challenge, depending on the industry.

“One manufacturer said that they needed to hire and train three workers to retain one,” according to the report, while a professional business firm reported that engineers and technical professionals are difficult to find because “those workers [are] hesitant to change jobs.” A staffing agency said some firms were raising rates to increase interest in open hourly and lower-wage positions.

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Va. woman’s death connected to Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause

A 45-year-old Virginia woman’s death due to a rare blood clot days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is connected to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s call for a pause on administering the one-dose vaccine, state health officials confirmed Tuesday.

“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) confirmed to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) that it is examining the March death of a Virginia woman as part of its investigation into possible adverse side effects from the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine,” state vaccination coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said in a statement released Tuesday night.

The Virginia woman died on March 18 from stroke-like symptoms in a Virginia hospital, according to a CDC report in the public Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

She went to the hospital March 17 complaining of a suddenly worsening headache, dry heaves and left-sided weakness. A CT scan revealed a brain hemorrhage. After being admitted, she was intubated “for worsening mental status.” After further decline, she was diagnosed as “brain dead” on March 18, the day she died. The CDC report does not confirm whether the death was caused by the vaccine, which she received March 6, and then began to feel ill six days later.

More than 6.8 million people have received Johnson & Johnson shots. The Virginia woman was one of six U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 48 who developed a rare blood clot disorder in combination with low levels of blood platelets within six to 13 days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. She was the only one among the six who died from the clot, which is called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

“We are closely monitoring the actions by the federal government to pause all Johnson & Johnson vaccinations while it investigates an extremely rare possible side effect,” Avula said. “In Virginia, we will cease all Johnson & Johnson vaccines until this investigation is complete. If you have an upcoming appointment for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you will be contacted to reschedule that appointment.

“This pause is reassuring in that it demonstrates that the systems that are in place to monitor vaccine safety are working. We look forward to a thorough review by federal health officials. Meantime, we will continue Virginia’s vaccine rollout at this time with the other two authorized vaccines, developed by Pfizer and Moderna.”

VDH recommends that anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and develops severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider, or call 911 if it is a medical emergency.

The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC said in a joint statement Tuesday morning that the agencies are recommending a pause in the vaccine’s use, and they will not be offering Johnson & Johnson shots at federal clinics. Other states, including Ohio and Virginia, have followed suit in the hours after the announcement, advising health practitioners in their states to stop using the vaccine for now.

“We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” read the statement from Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat.

The CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Wednesday to further review the six blood-clot cases and assess their potential significance, according to VDH, and the FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.