Alexandria is gearing up to move into the next phase of vaccination later this month, and the city’s Health Department is getting ready to launch some new programs and make adjustments to help make getting the shot a little easier.
So far, around 47,434 Alexandrians have been partially vaccinated, and 26,717 have been fully vaccinated. The target goal is 80% of the city vaccinated (106,618 people).
Private School, The Linder Academy, to Open in Old Town — “The Linder Academy, a private K-8 school, submitted a special use permit application to open a location at 601, 607 and 609 S. Washington St. and 710 Gibbon St. According to the application, the school will serve up to 105 students and 14-16 teachers and staff. There is a proposed outdoor play area in the courtyard between 601 and 607 S. Washington St.” [Alexandria Living]
Homegrown Restaurant Group vaccinates 300+ restaurant workers — “HGR volunteering today at the Alexandria Restaurant Vaccination Drive! 330 workers from 29 different restaurants will be vaccinated by the end of day. Many thanks to all the volunteers and to Alexandria Restaurant Partners for donating space to make this happen.” [Facebook]
Coronavirus vaccine eligibility expanded — Every Virginian 16 and older will be eligible for the #COVID19 vaccine by April 18–but several health districts have already expanded vaccinations to all adults or will be doing so in the coming days.” [Twitter]
Alexandria expanding vaccine phase 1C — “AHD follows the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) guidance that considers a frontline essential workers’ vaccine eligibility based upon their workplace location. This means that there are Alexandria residents working in essential frontline roles outside of the city limits of Alexandria who have yet to be vaccinated as a result of their employer jurisdiction’s supply availability. Therefore, before moving to Phase 2, AHD will offer vaccine appointments to all Alexandria residents who work in Phase 1 industries, regardless of their workplace location. If you are an essential frontline worker in Phase 1a, 1b, or 1c living in Alexandria and have not yet received a vaccine appointment, pre-register online or update your pre-registration record to ensure that the job category in your profile is correct.” [City of Alexandria]
President Joe Biden visited the Neighborhood Health vaccine site at Virginia Theological Seminary today (Tuesday) just before he was scheduled to announce that states should open COVID-19 vaccination appointments to all adults by April 19.
“We passed 150 million (vaccine doses distributed) yesterday,” Biden said. “When you go home, get all your friends and tell them, ‘Get a shot when they can.’ We’re going to be able to do this, everyone’s going to be able to before the month is out.”
Updated at 9:45 a.m. — President Joe Biden will visit the Virginia Theological Seminary at 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the White House.
“I am thrilled that the President is visiting Alexandria to highlight our vaccination effort,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “We have had great partnerships with non-profits, private partners and community organizations to both administer vaccinations and ensure equity in our distribution. The backbone of good planning and enormous volunteer support will get COVID into our rear-view mirror.”
Alexandria has moved into the vaccination Phase 1c, opening up eligibility for an expanded group of essential workers.
“At this time, AHD has enough vaccine supply to offer appointments to pre-registered individuals in Phase 1a, 1b, and 1c without further prioritization,” according to the Alexandria Health Department. “All residents who want to receive a vaccine are encouraged to visit alexandriava.gov/Vaccines to pre-register or update their records.”
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.”
Alexandria will receive 11,040 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week, which is 3,340 more than what was distributed last week.
The vaccines will be a mix of first and second doses, and does not include doses at local pharmacies and from Neighborhood Health, according to the Alexandria Health Department (AHD).
The City of Alexandria has released more information on upcoming vaccination stages as the state begins to move forwards the phase 1c.
According to the City of Alexandria, Virginia could start to move toward Phase 1c in the next few weeks as vaccine supply starts to increase. The move towards 1c is complicated by the fact that there are still a several thousand Alexandrians in Phase 1b who haven’t been vaccinated, including teachers who are now expected to return to school and restaurant workers the city recently moved into Phase 1b.
Two more Alexandrians have died of COVID-19 and the death toll from the virus now stands at 128.
The latest fatalities were in their 80s and 60s.
What an eventful week in Alexandria.
Thursday, March 11, marked the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic in Alexandria. As the vaccine rollout slowly improves, the most recent news is the allowance of restaurant workers to get the vaccine. Just over 38,000 doses have been administered in the city, and of that 14,661 residents have been fully vaccinated. The city also wants 80% of residents vaccinated by July 31.
