J&J COVID-19 Vaccine: Happy Accident Helps Ease Impact

ARLINGTON, VA — Thanks to a misdirected batch of vaccine doses from the Virginia Health Department, Arlington County was not as impacted as it could've been by Tuesday's recommendation to stop using the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Arlington paused J&J vaccinations Tuesday in response to recommendations from the Centers for Diseases Control and the Federal Drug Administration due to blood clot concerns. As of Monday, only six people out of the 6.8 million across the U.S. to have received the J&J vaccine reported experiencing adverse reactions within two weeks of their vaccination.

Dr. Reuben Varghese, director the Arlington County Public Health Division, told Arlington County Board members at a Tuesday night work session that the Virginia Department of Health had sent an extra shipment of the Moderna (MRNA) vaccine this week, because it thought the county hadn't received its weekly batch of second doses.

"We were blessed to have that 'accident' actually help us," Varghese said.

Public health officials used the extra Moderna doses to vaccinate people who had already signed up to receive the J&J vaccine at the Lubber Run vaccination clinic on Tuesday.

"They will actually be able to get an MRNA vaccine through Sunday, which is when our clinics are open through," Varghese said.

Even with the extra batch of Moderna doses, Arlington health officials had to scramble to ensure that it could vaccinate everyone who had an appointment this week. This means that the start of next week's vaccinations will be delayed until public health receives additional doses from the state.

"We will absolutely have no margin left to start the week, which is why when we do get our allocation, we will not be starting our clinic until Wednesday of next week," Varghese said.

Arlington recently stepped up its vaccination efforts in order to meet Gov. Ralph Northam's deadline for the state to enter Phase 2 by April 18 and begin vaccinating all adults 16 and over. The county has been vaccinating everyone in Phases 1a, 1b, and 1c, with the goal of entering Phase 2 the week of April 18.

People in Phase 2 can now pre-register at the Vaccinate Virginia website, or at 1-800-VAX-in-VA. Pre-registration allows the county to provide notification to eligible individuals to make vaccination appointments as more supplies becomes available.

Varghese told board members that 28,000 Arlington residents have already pre-registered via the state system to be vaccinated once Phase 2 opens.

"It should open up next week to start inviting people, but everyone is eligible to signup to express their interest," he said.

As of Wednesday morning, 119,747 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 45,216 people have been fully vaccinated in the Arlington Health District, according to Virginia Department of Health data. Statewide, 4,904,288 doses of the vaccine have been administered and 1,896,053 people have been fully vaccinated.

The positivity rate of COVID-19 testing in the Arlington Health District dropped to the lowest level in months on Wednesday. Virginia Department of Health reported that a total of 249,212 COVID-19 tests have been taken in the Arlington, with a 4.3 percent positivity rate. That's the lowest positivity rate since 4.2 percent was reported on Oct. 23.

Arlington's positivity rate has been steadily declining since it peaked at 13.4 percent on Jan. 2. Statewide there have been 8,799,182 COVID-19 tests taken, with a 6.6 percent positivity rate.

No new deaths connected with COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday, making it eight days since the last new death was reported in the health district. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Arlington stands at 249.

VDH confirmed 21 additional cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday in Arlington, which is up slightly from the 18 new cases reported on Tuesday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Arlington Health District stands at 14,718.

More: Where To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine In Arlington

There have been 60 outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Arlington Health District. There have been 27 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, 18 in a congregate setting, one at a correctional facility, four in health care settings, six at a child care facilities, one at a college or a university, and three at a K-12 facility. The total number of cases associated with an outbreak is 1,035. There have been 340 reported coronavirus cases in Arlington involving health-care workers.

There have been 640,211 total cases statewide, according to data reported by the Virginia Department of Health. In Virginia, there have been 10,510 coronavirus-related deaths to date. There have been a total of 27,397 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Globally, more than 137.6 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 2.9 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday morning. In the United States, more than 31.3 million people have been infected and over 563,000 people have died from COVID-19.

VDH breaks down the number of cases and deaths in Arlington by age, race and ethnicity. The breakdown by age is as follows:

Arlington residents should take the following actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

For more information on coronavirus vaccines in Virginia, see the Virginia Patch COVID-19 vaccination page and link to it: https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/topics/virginia-covid-19-vaccine-information-hub.

Also see ...

• Vaccine Passports In VA? An Overwhelming 'No' From Patch Readers
• Death After J&J Vaccination May Have Been Virginia Woman: State
• No New COVID-19 Deaths Reported For 7 Straight Days In Arlington
• Arlington County Stops Administering Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
• Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine Use Paused In Virginia
• Free, Walk-Up COVID-19 Testing Kiosk Coming To Courthouse Plaza