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Bills advance to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine distribution
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia House and Senate have unanimously advanced separate bills to facilitate administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. House Bill 2333, introduced by Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond, intends to strengthen the state’s vaccine distribution efforts and also bolster data collection. The measure removes barriers on health care providers’ eligibility to administer v[...]
State will accelerate COVID vaccinations, Northam pledges
Amid recent criticism from local officials and Virginia residents over the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout so far, Gov. Ralph Northam acknowledged citizen frustration and said the state is accelerating its efforts “to get more shots in more arms more quickly” and will also be “significantly expanding transparency.” “I understand your frustration,” Northam[...]
COVID-19 workplace safety, health rules become permanent Wednesday
Permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health rules take effect Wednesday in Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam announced, including standards that require all public-facing employees to wear masks as well as requiring businesses to provide ready access to hand sanitizer and regular common workspace cleaning. The rules range from appropriate personal protective equipment to sanitation, social distancin[...]
Freedom Bank, NVTC to seed $50K revolving loan fund for minority entrepreneurs
The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) and Fairfax-based Freedom Bank of Virginia announced Tuesday a $50,000 revolving loan fund for Northern Virginia entrepreneurs of color who have been affected by the pandemic. NVTC and Freedom Bank of Virginia will seed the NOVA Technology Loan Fund, a gap financing program to be administered by the Springfield-based […]
Local officials slam Northam administration’s COVID vaccine rollout
With Virginia lagging behind other states in getting residents vaccinated for COVID-19, officials in Hampton Roads, Fairfax County and Chesterfield County have gone straight to the governor with complaints and concerns about the process, which Chesterfield supervisors categorized as “totally defective” and Hampton Roads officials deemed “inconsistent,” saying it’s &#[...]
First case of U.K. COVID variant detected in Virginia
Updated 3:25 p.m., Jan. 25: The Virginia Department of Health announced Monday afternoon that Virginia has recorded its first case of a variant strain of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom late last year. It’s known as the B.1.1.7 variant, and so far, the United States has recorded nearly 200 cases of this mutation […]
$125M pharma manufacturing plant coming to Petersburg
Utah-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Civica Inc. plans to invest $124.5 million to establish its North American manufacturing headquarters operation in Petersburg, creating 186 jobs and manufacturing injectable medicines for the treatment of COVID-19, the governor’s office announced Thursday. A nonprofit generic drug company, Civica was established in 2018 by a group of U.S. health systems[...]
Applications open Jan. 19 for new PPP round
The relief loan floodgates will reopen Tuesday, as the U.S. Small Business Administration opens the latest $284.5 billion round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding available. This time, borrowers who received allocations during the initial rounds of PPP funding in 2020 can reapply under Second Draw PPP Loan applications. First Draw PPP Loans are for […]
Va. nears 10k COVID cases in single day
The state hit a new one-day record of nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases on Sunday. The rise in coronavirus infections comes amid a significant increase in coronavirus-related deaths, with approximately 49 fatalities a day, or two deaths per hour, occurring in the commonwealth last week. Meanwhile, Virginia public health officials said they expect a decrease in […]
State anticipates fewer COVID vaccine doses due to U.S. shortfall
Virginia public health officials said Saturday that the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses sent to the state is likely to decrease — possibly by a significant amount — because the federal government does not have the reserve of doses it had said were being held back for second shots. Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine […]
State opens COVID-19 vaccinations for Virginians 65 and older
Updated Jan. 18: A vaccine dose shortfall in the federal stockpile will likely lower the weekly number of doses Virginia receives, but state officials say they will continue with expansion of group 1b. Earlier: As part of a federal push to speed up the pace of vaccinations, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday that the state […]
Va. sees highest number of initial jobless claims since July 2020
Last week, more than 28,000 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims — a 44.5% jump from the previous week. This is the greatest number of initial claims reported since July 2020. During the week ending Jan. 9, 28,227 Virginians filed initial claims, which was an increase of 8,697 from the previous week. This could in part […]
