More Than 1 COVID-19 Vaccination Option Available In Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington residents who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination have more than one option available to them for scheduling an appointment.

Residents can preregister at the Vaccinate Virginia website, or at 1-800-VAX-in-VA. Preregistration allows the county to provide notification to eligible individuals to make vaccination appointments as supply becomes available.

While a number of pharmacies have started offering appointments in the area as well, Cara O'Donnell, a spokeswoman for Arlington County Public Health, said that program is a part of a federal effort and not associated with the county's vaccination program. She recommended eligible residents preregister with the county and then use the VacinneFinder.org to look for other available appointments.

Currently, Arlington is vaccinating people in the Phase 1b priority group, which includes a wide range of residents: people 65 and older, people 16 to 64 with an underlying health condition or disability, certain essential worker groups, and people living in correctional facilities, homeless shelters or migrant labor camps.

As of Friday morning, 61,432 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 22,195 people have been fully vaccinated in the Arlington Health District, according to VDH data. Statewide, 2,940,103 doses of the vaccine have been administered and 1,075,770 people have been fully vaccinated.

VDH confirmed 41 additional cases of COVID-19 on Friday in Arlington. That's the same number of new cases reported on Thursday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Arlington Health District stands at 13,811.

On Friday, VDH adjusted its number of new deaths due to COVID-19 in Arlington, by removing one death from its previous total. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths now stands at 242. A total of 790 people have been hospitalized in Arlington due to COVID-19.

More: How Arlington Residents Can Get The Coronavirus Vaccine

The positivity rate of COVID-19 testing in the Arlington Health District has been steadily declining since it peaked at 13.4 percent on Jan. 2.

As of Friday, VDH reported that 225,982 COVID-19 tests have been taken in the Arlington, with a 4.7 percent positivity rate. Statewide there have been 8,080,112 COVID-19 tests taken, with a 6 percent positivity rate.

There have been 57 outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Arlington Health District. There have been 27 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, 15 in a congregate setting, one at a correctional facility, four in healthcare 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 988. There have been 313 reported coronavirus cases in Arlington involving health-care workers.

There have been 602,182 total cases statewide, according to data reported by the Virginia Department of Health. In Virginia, there have been 10,092 coronavirus-related deaths to date. There have been a total of 25,711 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Globally, more than 121.9 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 2.6 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Friday morning. In the United States, more than 29.6 million people have been infected and over 539,000 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.

Also see ...

• Arlington Waits To Enter Next Phase Of COVID-19 Vaccinations
• Virginia Coronavirus Update: 2,082 Additional Cases Reported
• Phase 1C Vaccines Start In Few VA Areas; 1B Continues In NoVA
• Pharmacy Partners To Expand Vaccines Within Phase 1B In Virginia
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: 1 New Death; 46 Additional Cases