City Of Fairfax: Slowing Vaccination Uptake, Rise Of Variants May Impact Drop In COVID-19 Cases

Press release from the City of Fairfax :

07/02/2021

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fairfax Health District is seeing some of the lowest levels of disease transmission. Much of this success is attributed to identifying and isolating individuals who are sick with COVID-19 and the ongoing vaccination efforts targeting everyone 12 years of age and older.

For the week ending June 26, fewer than one percent of COVID-19 tests performed on Fairfax County residents were positive and fewer than 10 cases occurred for every 100,000 people. These numbers indicate that the Fairfax Health District is experiencing a low level of community transmission asdefined by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This achievement reflects the contributions of residents across the county who have chosen to get vaccinated and who practice behaviors that help prevent the spread of disease, including staying home when sick and wearing masks when appropriate.

Despite this progress and the high rate of vaccination in the Fairfax Health District, still many adolescents and adults have not been vaccinated, and children age 12 and younger are too young to receive vaccine. This creates a risk for a new surge of infections, particularly with the emergence of new COVID-19 variants. Viruses, like COVID-19, constantly change as they spread from person-to-person. As the virus changes, or mutates, new variants of the virus occur allowing some variants to spread more easily, which can lead to more cases of COVID-19.

The greatest current threat is the Delta COVID-19 variant, which was first detected in India, and has been spreading in the US, now accounting for more than 20 percent of COVID-19 cases nationwide. While proportions are lower in Virginia and the Fairfax Health District, infections caused by this variant are likely to increase (see the Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 Variants of Concern Dashboard). Studies do show that the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the US remain very effective against the Delta variant.

COVID-19 vaccine is available at locations throughout the Fairfax Health District, including private healthcare providers, pharmacies, grocery stores, urgent cares and the Health Department. To schedule a vaccination appointment, go to vaccines.gov for the widest selection of vaccination locations or visit the Health Department’s website.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines in in the Fairfax Health District, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/novel-coronavirus/vaccine or call 703-324-7404.

Because the Delta variant is more transmissible and may cause more severe disease, people who are not vaccinated should wear a face covering in all public settings and are encouraged to take precautions in accordance with CDC guidance for unvaccinated people.

Additionally, the Virginia Department of Health still recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated continue to practice physical distancing.

This press release was produced by the City of Fairfax. The views expressed here are the author’s own.