Virginia Surpasses 4M Vaccine Shots As Regional Allotments Shift

VIRGINIA — Virginia's COVID-19 vaccine coordinator said Friday that he is confident that as many as 65 percent of adults in the state will be able to get vaccinated by the end of May.

On Saturday, the Virginia Department of Health reported that 4,071,088 total doses of the vaccine have been administered so far, with 2,704,038 people, or 31.7 percent of the state's population, receiving at least their first dose.

In late spring and early summer, the challenge will move from getting enough vaccines for all the people who want the vaccine to convincing people to take the shot to reach the 70-percent to 75-percent threshold of herd immunity, Dr. Danny Avula said on a teleconference with reporters Friday.

Avula said he hopes an additional 10 to 15 percent of Virginia adults will agree to get vaccinated by the end of the summer so that the state can near herd immunity.

Virginia expects to receive more than 200,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this coming week, despite the company likely having to dispose of millions of doses due to problems with the manufacturing of the vaccine. Avula said he has not heard what the long-term impact of the problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will have on Virginia's supplies.

Allocations of vaccines have been shifted among local health districts in order to meet demand, which can vary from area to area, according to Avula. Northern Virginia's allotments have increased from about 102,500 the week of March 14 to 132,000 for the week of March 21 and 145,000 the week of March 28.

On Saturday, the VDH reported that 1,467,640 Virginians, or 17.2 percent of the state's population, were fully vaccinated.

The state is averaging 73,218 doses administered per day. Local health departments lead the state with 1,230,732 total doses given, followed by pharmacies with 951,369 total doses. Hospitals have administered a total of 843,949 vaccines. Medical practices are next with 612,149 doses administered followed by community health providers at 432,889.

On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced that residents 16 and older in Virginia will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting Sunday, April 18, which is ahead of the May 1 goal President Joe Biden set for the country.

Social restrictions were partially lifted across the state on Thursday. With these newest changes in place, more people can now gather at entertainment venues, recreational sporting events, social gatherings and graduations.

COVID-19 Data

The Virginia Department of Health reported a 6.4-percent coronavirus positivity rate on Saturday from tests performed on residents over the past seven days. The positivity rate is up from 6.2 percent reported Friday and continues to inch higher from the 2021 low of 5.4-percent positivity rate reported on March 12.

But the positive rate remains far below the 2021 high of 17.4 percent reported on Jan. 3 by the VDH. In the two months after reaching 17.4 percent in early January, the state reported more than 3,000 deaths from COVID-19.

Since the start of the pandemic, the all-time high of the seven-day coronavirus positivity rate was 20.2 percent on April 20, 2020.

On average, 16,934 daily PCR testing encounters were reported statewide on March 30, down from a peak of 35,034 on Jan. 14.

On Saturday, 1,542 additional COVID-19 cases were reported by VDH, and the seven-day average of daily cases was 1,415. Northern Virginia accounted for 431 new cases on Saturday and has a seven-day average of 393 daily cases.

An additional eight COVID-19 deaths were reported Saturday, bringing the death total to 10,287. Virginia's COVID-19 hospitalizations stand at 1,022 statewide as of Saturday, up from a 2021 low of 977 on March 20. The current count includes 233 patients in intensive care units and 127 on ventilators.

Ventilator use among all hospital patients is at 28 percent, and ICU occupancy is at 76 percent, according to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association.

Here are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area from Friday to Saturday:

• Alexandria: 11,020 cases, 534 hospitalizations, 128 deaths; increase of 24 cases
• Arlington County: 14,364 cases, 808 hospitalizations, 246 deaths; increase of 45 cases
• Fairfax County: 71,971 cases, 3,740 hospitalizations, 1,040 deaths; increase of 166 cases, 12 hospitalizations and one death
• Fairfax City: 525 cases, 42 hospitalizations, 18 deaths; increase of one case
• Falls Church: 395 cases, 20 hospitalizations, nine deaths; increase of three cases
• Loudoun County: 25,517 cases, 955 hospitalizations, 270 deaths; increase of 65 cases and one hospitalization
• Manassas: 4,182 cases, 166 hospitalizations, 45 deaths; increase of 10 cases
• Manassas Park: 1,171 cases, 67 hospitalizations, 12 deaths; no changes
• Prince William County: 42,304 cases, 1,515 hospitalizations, 468 deaths; increase of 117 cases and two hospitalizations
• Fredericksburg: 1,898 cases, 96 hospitalizations, 22 deaths; increase of eight cases
• Spotsylvania County: 8,922 cases, 291 hospitalizations, 108 deaths; increase of 28 cases
• Stafford County: 10,264 cases, 336 hospitalizations, 69 deaths; increase of 23 cases