The pandemic — one year later
One year ago this week, Virginians started bumping elbows instead of shaking hands. We raced about trying to find toilet paper and hand sanitizer and began washing our hands obsessively as a virus we’d only heard about in the news suddenly appeared in Virginia and would quickly transform daily life as we knew it. Virginia’s […]
COVID roundup: 1 year into pandemic, Va. makes headway with vaccinations
A year after the first COVID-19 cases in Virginia were recorded, the state is making significant headway in vaccinating residents. As of Monday, March 8, 1.49 million Virginians — or 17.5% of the state’s population — have received at least one shot. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-related deaths in Virginia was still higher than average […]
90K Johnson & Johnson shots arriving in Va. this week
More than 90,000 Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses are arriving in Virginia now through Thursday, the state vaccine coordinator said Wednesday afternoon. According to Dr. Danny Avula, 69,000 doses of the one-shot vaccine are heading to local health districts, and retail pharmacies will receive 22,000 doses, which will be administered from Friday through early […]
COVID roundup: Johnson & Johnson vaccine headed to Va. this week
Virginia expects to receive its first allocation of 69,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses produced by Johnson & Johnson this week, along with about 360,000 more doses from Moderna and Pfizer Inc., the Virginia Department of Health announced this weekend. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — which requires only one […]
Virginia could get 400K+ COVID vaccine doses for first week of March
Virginia could receive up to 433,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine doses for the first week of March, depending on the timing of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine, according to Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator. During a Friday news conference, Avula said the state expects to […]
Delegate celebrates passage of limited paid leave bill
RICHMOND,Va. — After four years and multiple bills, Del. Elizabeth Guzmán, D-Woodbridge, is on the cusp of being able to secure paid leave for some Virginia workers. “It feels really good,” Guzmán said. “I think about the amount of people who are going to get this benefit and how they will have peace of mind […]
$8.5M parcel in Spotsylvania to be used for Veterans Affairs clinic
Nearly 50 acres of land along Route 1 and Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania County has sold for $8.5 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Wednesday. The 48.75-acre parcel will be used to develop one of the nation’s largest Veterans Affairs facilities, according to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. Carnegie Management and Development Corp. will […]
COVID roundup: 300K vaccine doses arrive in Va.
Virginia received an influx of more than 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses this week, in part due to the weather-delayed delivery of 106,000 Moderna doses that were expected last week. The state also is receiving a bump in doses directed to local health departments and districts, as well as twice as many doses arriving in retail […]
Lawmakers advance bills to compensate first responders hit by COVID-19
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers have passed bills that allow certain first responders to file workers’ compensation benefits for being disabled from COVID-19, but still need to reach agreement on some differences. The measures would make COVID-19 an occupational disease for firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and law enforcement or correctional officers and allow thes[...]
Va. vaccine doses will get ‘big bump’ next week
Virginia’s vaccine coordinator, Dr. Danny Avula, said Friday he expects about 213,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to come to the state weekly, beginning next week. That’s an increase of about 60,000 doses from the past week. Last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the federal government would up weekly national distribution from 11 million […]
State launches COVID-19 vaccine hotline
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that a COVID-19 vaccine hotline, staffed with about 750 customer service employees, has launched. The number is (877) VAX-IN-VA, or (877) 829-4682. The phone number, targeted for Virginians without reliable internet access, opened the day after the Virginia Department of Health started a statewide vaccine registration website, replacing local health […[...]
Statewide COVID vaccine registration site launched
The Virginia Department of Health launched its COVID-19 vaccine registration system Tuesday, available at vaccinate.virginia.gov. A phone hotline will open Wednesday, allowing Virginians who don’t have reliable internet access to register for the vaccine. The site comes after local health districts had set up local sites for residents to register for vaccines, which are currently […]