Virginia To Receive Fewer COVID-19 Vaccine Doses In December

VIRGINIA — Operation Warp Speed informed state health officials Thursday that each state would be receiving fewer doses of COVID-19 vaccine than initially planned for the next few weeks.

Virginia Department of Health was expecting to receive 480,000 doses of vaccine from two manufacturers, Pfizer and Moderna, in December. Now the state will be receiving 370,650 doses instead, according to a VDH news release.

The top priority groups in Virginia to receive the COVID-19 vaccine are health care personnel and long-term care facilities residents. This week, 18 hospitals across the state received their first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine, with 72,125 doses being dispersed to frontline healthcare workers. Virginia has placed an order with Moderna for 146,400 doses of its vaccine.

On Friday , 3,295 additional coronavirus cases were reported statewide, according to the VDH. The statewide seven-day average of daily cases reached a peak of 3,920 on Dec. 12 before starting to decline in recent days. The latest average is 3,564. New cases by region include 642 in the southwest region, 797 in the northern region, 760 in the eastern region, 527 in the northwest region, and 569 in the central region.

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Current COVID-19 hospitalizations stand at 2,409 statewide, which includes 510 in the intensive care units and 254 on ventilators. Patients by region include 615 in the northern region, 516 in the eastern region, 453 in the southwest region, 394 in the northwest region, and 431 in the central region.

According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, ventilator use among all hospital patients is at 32 percent capacity, and ICU occupancy is at 54 percent. The 2019 average for ICU occupancy was 67 percent. No hospitals have reported difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment in the next 72 hours since Sept. 18.

The statewide seven-day average of positive PCR tests is 11.8 percent as of Dec. 14, and regional averages are 15.3 percent in the southwest region, 12.8 percent in the eastern region, 11.8 percent in the northern region, 10.8 percent in the northwest region, and 9.2 percent in the central region. Statewide, a seven-day average of 26,625 PCR testing encounters are being reported each day.

There were 45 new deaths reported on Friday, and the seven-day average of daily death reports is 33.

Below are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area from Wednesday to Thursday:

• Alexandria: 6,456 cases, 409 hospitalizations, 82 deaths; increase of 35 cases and two hospitalizations
• Arlington County: 7,710 cases, 633 hospitalizations, 168 deaths; increase of 49 cases, two hospitalizations and one death
• Fairfax County: 38,477 cases, 2,752 hospitalizations, 651 deaths; increase of 386 cases, 16 hospitalizations and two deaths
• Fairfax City: 261 cases, 24 hospitalizations, 10 deaths; increase of eight cases, two hospitalizations
• Falls Church: 141 cases, 16 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of one case
• Loudoun County: 12,386 cases, 616 hospitalizations, 155 deaths; increase of 120 cases and four hospitalizations
• Manassas: 2,643 cases, 145 hospitalizations, 29 deaths; increase of 18 cases
• Manassas Park: 847 cases, 62 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of seven cases
• Prince William County: 22,173 cases, 1,166 hospitalizations, 247 deaths; increase of 291 cases, 10 hospitalizations, and one death
• Fredericksburg: 883 cases, 61 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of 18 cases and one hospitalization
• Spotsylvania County: 3,974 cases, 196 hospitalizations, 61 deaths; increase of 58 cases, three hospitalizations and one death
• Stafford County: 4,307 cases, 217 hospitalizations, 23 deaths; increase of 50 cases and two hospitalizations