VA Governor Gets Mixed Marks, Vaccine Rollout Criticized: Survey

VIRGINIA — With this past Sunday marking the one-year anniversary of Virginia's first known case of the coronavirus, we asked readers for their thoughts on how the state has handled the pandemic and their plans for this spring.

During the past year, schools, businesses, entertainment venues and sports teams have had to adapt to safety precautions. Friends and families have been separated to avoid spreading the virus.

The non-scientific survey to gauge reader sentiment was open from 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 4 through 1 p.m. on Monday, March 8. We received nearly 1,150 responses.

We opened the survey as the pace of vaccinations across the state is improving and positive coronavirus cases are declining. Among the 1,146 responses, 22 percent said they are fully vaccinated while 17.9 percent said they have received their first shot.

A plurality of respondents, 36.4 percent, said they are waiting on a vaccine appointment, while 4.2 percent said they have appointments but have not yet received a vaccine.

"The vaccine rollout has been confusing and disorganized," one respondent said, while another reader noted the online registration sites at the local and state levels "were not always working" and that "you had to be persistent and keep trying or call for assistance and wait a very long time to get someone on the line."

Nearly 20 percent, or 224 respondents, said they do not plan on getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Readers’ views on how Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has handled the pandemic were mixed. Nearly 38 percent of respondents gave the governor an “A” or “B” grade for how he has performed in response to the public health crisis, while 25.7 percent of respondents gave the governor a failing grade.

Almost 48 percent of respondents said they currently feel safe dining indoors at restaurants, while 28.9 percent said they only feel safe dining outdoors at restaurants and 23.3 percent said they do not feel safe dining at restaurants, either indoors or outdoors.

A plurality of respondents, 42.1 percent, said they feel “extremely comfortable” resuming regular pre-pandemic activities without a mask or social distancing, while 40.9 percent said they are comfortable resuming activities but only with a mask and social distancing. Nearly 17 percent said they do not feel comfortable returning to normal activities.

Sports teams and leagues have found ways to keep going over the past year, but mostly without fans in attendance. According to the survey, though, nearly 47 percent of respondents believe three local professional sports teams — the Wizards, Capitals and Nationals — should open their arenas and stadiums to fans.

Nearly 32 percent said only the open-air Nationals Park should allow fans to attend games, while 21.4 percent said none of the three sports are ready to allow fans to attend their games.

Among readers who have been able to work from home over the past year, a majority of respondents — 57.4 percent — said they would feel comfortable returning to their office job after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Among the remaining responses, 26.5 percent answered “maybe” to the question of returning to their indoor office job, while 16.1 percent said they would not feel comfortable returning yet to their office job after getting a vaccine.

Vaccine Rollout Gets Low Marks

In the survey, we asked readers to tell us the biggest missteps and successes Virginia has seen during the pandemic.

Many respondents expressed disappointment with the confusion surrounding the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Virginia and how the state seemed unprepared, despite having months to get the logistics ready for when the vaccine was approved. Some were confused why younger people with underlying conditions were receiving invitations to get the vaccine ahead of people 75 and older.

"Vaccine distribution and scheduling needs improvement," a commenter said. "We have seen 25-year-olds receive the vaccine before 70-year-olds that are high risk."

"Horrible distribution of vaccine," another respondent wrote. "I have an underlining condition of cancer, and I’m 63 and none of the pharmacies are addressing this. I have been signed up for 8 weeks on the Virginia website."

"Confusion on where and how to register for a vaccine: i.e. local Dept of Health, medical provider or the state registry?" a respondent wrote. "This seems to be resolved now."

Similar to how there are drive-thru COVID-19 test sites, health departments "need to set up easy to access drive-thru vaccinations," a reader said.

ALSO READ: Most Rate Virginia Vaccine Rollout Poorly, On Wait Lists: Survey

Another reader expressed concern with the "lack of transparency" in "vaccine availability."

A respondent noted that their retirement community took significant precautions from the start of the crisis in an attempt to keep residents safe.

"Well, I remained COVID free and that is due to the fact that my retirement community went into total lockdown for many months, and we are still restricted on what activities we can do within the community," the reader said. "We didn't escape COVID completely, but it was contained, and we are now fully vaccinated. Stressful but relatively safe year for us."

During the early part of the pandemic, the lack of enough COVID-19 tests caused stress and confusion among the public.

"Misstep: Virginia consistently ranked fairly low in terms of testing per million, as compared to other US states/territories. I wish this had been addressed earlier," a reader said. "Success: I felt comfortable with the way the VA government communicated with Virginians, and I appreciated that they respected science."

Another reader said Northam’s recent statement that the worst of the pandemic is behind the state was irresponsible. "We don’t know that for sure yet and that statement could lead to careless behavior," the reader wrote. "Northam’s actions in the pandemic have been pretty good, but his verbal messaging has been a little weak."

Mask-Wearing Debate Continues

Other readers felt health and government officials placed too much emphasis on wearing masks.

"Masks should have always been optional, not mandatory, everywhere," a respondent said. "I don't see how we can confirm the vaccine works if everyone is still wearing masks. Pointless."

"Biggest mistake was closing the schools and still not reopening them fully!" a reader said "Another huge misstep is the draconian measures being forced on citizens. Masks should be at the discretion of each individual."

The science has consistently shown, though, that wearing masks helps to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

One reader thought there was too much "fear-mongering" over the pandemic. "While I believe the virus is real, the public response was a hoax to influence a national election," the reader added.

Other readers countered that the "latest easing of restrictions is not a good idea considering the many variants of the virus that are now in the US and in Virginia."

Another reader praised Northern Virginia residents for doing "a very good job in following the mask mandate."

When officials were trying to preserve masks for health care workers last spring, a reader noted that a major misstep was "not MANDATING mask wearing early in the pandemic."

Another reader had a somewhat more positive view on how the state has handled the pandemic.

"I think overall, Virginia is doing all right. We all need to work as a team — this is new stuff for everyone," the reader said.