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NOW: Alexandria preparing new face mask ordinance as CDC says fully vaccinated folks don’t need them

By James Cullum
Walking on King Street in Old Town, Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson has asked City staff to prepare a revised face mask ordinance since news broke that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising that anyone who is fully vaccinated no longer needs to wear them.

“Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues,” the CDC said Tuesday. “For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (more than) 2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or (more than) 2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen).”

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum

Alexandria health director reflects on sudden retirement, tenure with city — “When Dr. Stephen Haering, director of the Alexandria Health Department for the past 11 years, unexpectedly announced his retirement on April 9, he did so for what he called ‘deeply personal’ reasons. Haering, whose retirement was effective immediately according to a city news release, told the Times in an interview that his departure was ‘not associated with the pandemic response.'” [Alex Times]

Vaccination drive brings a dose of hope for restaurant workers — “More than 1,000 restaurant and small business employees have filed through the doors of the old Fireflies restaurant over the past few weeks with the same purpose: receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. The location’s current vacancy made this the perfect site to administer such a large number of shots, Bill Blackburn, restaurateur and co-owner of Homegrown Restaurant Group, said. Blackburn joined forces with community organizer Charlotte Hall and Scott Shaw of Alexandria Restaurant Partners – who donated the space – to orchestrate the Alexandria Restaurant Drive whereby restaurant workers could receive vaccinations in a streamlined way.” [Alex Times]

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Alexandria Health Department pauses Johnson & Johnson vaccinations

By Vernon Miles

Following new concerns about potential side effects, Alexandria and statewide health administrations are pausing all planned Johnson & Johnson vaccinations.

The news comes after the CDC and the FDA released a recommendation to stop using the vaccine after six patients reportedly developed a rare and severe type of blood clot.

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Alexandria getting 11K COVID-19 vaccine doses this week, residents asked to register

By James Cullum

“This does not include additional vaccine supplies from federal programs provided directly to participating pharmacies and Alexandria’s federally qualified health center, Neighborhood Health,” according to AHD.

Residents are encouraged to pre-register with the city to get on the vaccine waitlist at alexandriava.gov/Vaccines or call 703-746-4988 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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Neighborhood Health vaccinating thousands at sites in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax County

By James Cullum

There’s a line nowadays that snakes around the corner from the old Pet Valu store at 3819 Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria. The store has been repurposed as a vaccine site for Neighborhood Health, which has given away more than 16,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine to low income and mostly minority residents.

“We have provided 16,000 vaccines between all the sites, and 85% of them have been to people of color,” Neighborhood Health Executive Director Dr. Basim Khan told ALXnow. “We’ve ramped it up over time since we started. So at this point we’re at 5,000 vaccines a week.”

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12 More COVID-19 Deaths in Alexandria, White Residents Getting More Vaccines

By James Cullum

There have been 12 more coronavirus-related deaths in Alexandria, bringing the death toll from the virus to 119.

Six of the deaths were residents in their 80s, four were in their 70s and two were in their 60s. Five victims were women and seven were men.

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Three More COVID-19 Deaths in Alexandria as Infections Keep Going Down

By James Cullum

There have been three more coronavirus-related deaths in Alexandria, and the case count has reached 10,186, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

That’s 149 cases since Monday, continuing a downward trend in cases. Two of the deaths were in their 80s and one was in their 60s. One victim was a woman and two were men.

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Morning Notes

By James Cullum
Sledding on the lawn of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial in Old Town, Feb. 18, 2021. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

Beyer Wants Federal Employees to Get Vaccine — “Our region has the largest concentration of federal employees. Many qualify as essential workers with local jurisdictions responsible for vaccinations. We’re asking the federal government to vaccinate feds via a separate federalized allocation to speed up vaccinations in the DMV.” [Twitter]

Alexandria Vaccinates 20,000 Residents — “On a hopeful note, Alexandria also hit the milestone this week of more than 20,000 residents vaccinated. AHD and private providers continue to vaccinate and work to schedule the tens of thousands of residents who pre-registered for vaccines.” [City of Alexandria]

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