President Joe Biden and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won the majority of votes in Arlington in yesterday’s Virginia presidential primary.

However, the low voter turnout in both primaries might serve as a warning sign for both Biden and the now clear Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, of a lack of voter enthusiasm.

Of Arlington’s 179,095 registered voters, 31,418 participated in the Super Tuesday primary, per the Virginia Department of Elections. Biden won the majority of Democratic votes, receiving 14,637 votes (89.3%), while Haley led the Republican field with 10,957 votes (73.7%), far outpacing Trump, who received 3,538 votes (23.8%).

Haley achieved double-digit victories in almost every Arlington precinct, with the exception of the Arlington Mill neighborhood, where Trump outpaced her by nine votes. Biden comfortably won all precincts, with his nearest competitor, Marianne Williamson, seldom securing more than 15% of the vote in a precinct.

Despite making substantial gains in Northern Virginia, including victories in Fairfax County and Alexandria, Haley’s efforts fell short of a statewide win. Trump comfortably won in Virginia — and 12 other Super Tuesday states — with 434,945 votes (63.3%) as of today, compared to Haley’s 238,054 (34.6%).

Biden secured 306,845 out of 345,927 votes statewide (88.4%) with nearly all localities reporting. Comparatively, he received 705,834 votes out of the 1.3 million cast statewide (53.3%) in the 2020 presidential primary, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

National media outlets have reported that Haley plans to suspend her campaign this morning after she was severely defeated in most Republican primary elections across the country, though she did win Vermont last night and D.C. on Sunday.

Local election experts and party leaders closely watched Haley and Biden’s performance in D.C. suburbs, including Arlington, to gauge suburban dissatisfaction with the presidential front-runners.

While Haley and Biden’s comparatively more moderate politics won out in Arlington, the low turnout could be a sign voters are not satisfied with their choices.

On the eve of Super Tuesday, local party leaders, political consults and pundits on both sides of the aisle have already agreed on who the Republican and Democratic nominees for president will be.

One question lingering in the minds of many is whether the D.C. suburbs, including Arlington, can offer any indication of whether candidates are gaining or losing sufficient suburban voters to impact the general election.

“We had presidential election-style turnout in 2021 in Virginia, partly based on suburban voters in Northern Virginia and outside Richmond,” Arlington GOP Chair Matthew Hurtt told ARLnow. “Both campaigns will surely be focused on engaging and turning out those voters and, so we’ll see ads on abortion, we’ll see ads on things happening in our school system, and it’ll be up to them.”

When the polls open tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6 a.m., voters in Virginia and 14 other states will have the opportunity to cast their in-person ballots for the nominees of both major parties until the polls close at 7 p.m. Because Virginia operates an open primary system, registered voters are not required to cast their ballots according to party affiliation.

As of today (March 4), the following Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are on the ballot in Virginia:

• Ryan Binkley (R)
• Chris Christie (R)
• Nikki Haley (R)
• Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)
• Vivek Ramaswamy (R)
• Donald J. Trump (R)
• President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D)
• U.S. Rep. Dean Benson Phillips (D)
• Marianne Williamson (D)

(Note: Republicans Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron Desantis have suspended their respective campaigns but have not formally withdrawn from the race in Virginia.)

Despite the slim chances of a Republican presidential contender winning Arlington in the general election, Republicans are hoping that enough support from moderate Republicans and independents in D.C. suburbs could influence the general election outcome in Virginia.

No Republican candidate has captured a majority of the vote in Arlington County since Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, according to county voting records. Since then, the political divide has only widened, with Arlington solidifying its reputation as a stronghold of liberal politics.

Nevertheless, local Republican leaders point to a slight uptick in Republican engagement in Arlington. Gov. Glenn Youngkin netted nearly 5,300 more votes in the November 2021 general election than Republican candidate Ed Gillespie received in 2017, an increase of nearly four percentage points, per voting records.

So far, early voting numbers suggest a low turnout for the upcoming primaries. Out of 158,145 registered voters, about 8,000 have already voted early, either in person or by mail. Of these, 5,689 were for Democratic candidates and 2,000 for Republican candidates, per the county’s Election Dashboard.

Local Republican campaign strategist Andrew Loposser says the lack of participation is likely a consequence of a lack of motivation among Republican voters, who are discouraged by the presence of a clear frontrunner.

“They don’t care that much because they know Trump is going to be the nominee,” he says.

Democratic party officials in nearby counties, including Fairfax, have also voiced concerns about voter turnout among Democrats. However, Arlington Democratic Committee Chair Steve Baker says he’s confident that the Democratic base will turn out to support Biden’s record and show opposition to his likely general election opponent, Trump.

“When we talk to voters, we see a lot of energy and excitement around all the accomplishments that Joe Biden has accomplished in the last four years,” Baker told ARLnow. “Whether it’s the [bipartisan] infrastructure bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, the PACT Act, CHIPS Act, student debt relief — up to $1.2 billion in student debt relief.

“And on the other side, we have a presumptive Republican nominee, who has said that he will be a dictator on day one and has taken credit for the Dobbs decision,” he continued.

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Young Arlington politicos across the partisan divide are closely watching Donald Trump’s presidential bid and its potential effect on voter turnout this cycle.

Whereas Arlington Young Democrats (AYD) is using the prospect of a second Trump presidency to mobilize the party’s base, Arlington-Falls Church Young Republicans (AFCYR) is threading the needle of supporting the likely GOP frontrunner without estranging members of their party.

“We were not a club that went out and endorsed [Trump] fully from the get-go. But we also weren’t a group that went out and said, ‘You know what, you shouldn’t be running again,’ because we knew that we had a wide breadth of beliefs within our club, and so we didn’t also want to kind of alienate people,” AFCYR Chair Victoria Churchill tells ARLnow.

Bylaws for both political groups explicitly forbid them from officially endorsing any candidate in contested primary elections.

Despite this, Churchill and her counterpart, Bryant Atkins, the president of the AYD, are gearing up for a seemingly inevitable rematch between former President Trump and the current incumbent, Joe Biden.

Considering Arlington County and Northern Virginia’s strong blue leanings, Atkins is optimistic about mobilizing local Democrats in November.

Since the 2016 presidential election, people ages 18-29 have turned out in record numbers, especially for Democrats, in federal and statewide elections, including Virginia.

Atkins says national issues such as climate change and reproductive rights played a major role in last year’s election, helping Democrats maintain their state Senate majority and reclaim the House of Delegates.

But some national polls indicate younger voters are souring on Biden, which Churchill is hoping to capitalize on.

“I think if you voted for Joe Biden four years ago, and you’re in a worse off place today, you’re not going to make the same mistake twice,” she said.

Since 2021, Churchill claims, economic issues such as rising housing costs and the return of student loan payments have made many young people in Arlington and the surrounding region cynical about the Biden administration.

“And so honestly, things like housing I think are kind of animating a lot of people to go out and vote again, be involved,” she said. “I think for people as they’re looking to make those kind of long term investments in their life, like they’re figuring out that it’s a lot harder than it has been.”

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(Updated at 8:15 pm on 02/27/23) When florist and collage artist Azeb Woldie fled Ethiopia after being harassed and imprisoned by the government, she settled on Columbia Pike and began working with a flower shop in Alexandria.

She never imagined that within a few years of moving here, her arrangements would make it onto TV and be seen by millions of people.

Around this time two years ago, Woldie had the unforgettable experience of making some of the flower arrangements used in President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Now, she owns her own flower shop on Columbia Pike called Azi Flowers (903 S. Highland Street), which she opened in September.

“I am a fierce entrepreneur and a fighter, and I only see things in a positive way and I use all negatives to develop my business as opportunities,” she tells ARLnow.

From a young age, she remembers painting and playing with colors, eventually moving into collage art, which was exhibited in art galleries in Ethiopia. She worked with flowers for more than 15 years in Ethiopia and during that time, opened a photography and film school with her youngest brother in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital.

“It was an exciting time to see young people learn to express themselves through pictures and making films,” she said.

Her students began making films that expressed their views on human rights, put her at odds with the Ethiopian government, which accused her school of producing photojournalists who opposed the state. (An earlier version of this article tied this persecution to the recently ended civil war in the Tigray region, but she fled before this conflict began.)

“I was harassed, imprisoned there,” she said. “Finally I just could not go on where I had to flee the country and come to the United States.”

Now, she is settled on Columbia Pike, where she says people are encouraging and friendly, helping her along as she works to grow her new flower shop. She says the flower business is like a jigsaw puzzle of promotion, marketing, financial capacity and networking.

“I am working my level best to put the different pieces in my capacity to land in their place, but not all pieces are coming together,” she said.

Inflation has hiked flower prices, leading fewer people to spend money on arrangements or to check the price tags more often when they do. Still, she finds solace in how people turn to flowers to express their joy and their sadness.

During the pandemic, people used flowers “to show their camaraderie and connection to affected family and friends,” she said.

Woldie says she enjoys making arrangements for funerals and for weddings the most because of the milestones they communicate.

“A funeral is the last day of life, and showing your love with beautiful arrangements gives the living solace and shows their affection for the passing,” she said. “A wedding is another life event where the two people have a new beginning in life, and at that juncture it is a way of showing a delightful beginning.”

Woldie says flowers are a natural way to show “love, affection and caring.”

“One can even see the flower beds in the garden or flower pots at your doorstep and [get] a good feeling,” she said. “It is nature’s way of smiling at you [against] all odds.”

This story has been updated. 

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are scheduled to cross the river into Arlington next week.

“On Monday, December 12, as part of the First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative, the President and the First Lady will travel to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia to participate in a United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots sorting event, in celebration of Toys for Tots’ 75th Anniversary,” the White House announced Friday afternoon.

A time for the event was not given.

That the presidential visit is taking place at the military base should limit traffic impacts for local residents, but the presidential motorcade could still result in rolling closures on certain roads and bridges.

Biden previously traveled to Arlington for this year’s 9/11 remembrance at the Pentagon. Prior to that he campaigned for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe in Pentagon City in October 2021.

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1812 N. Moore Street in Rosslyn.

Hacks of infrastructure are on the rise, according to Ballston-based cyber security company Fend, which says the newly passed infrastructure bill with “unprecedented” cybersecurity spending couldn’t come at a better time.

Within the last year, criminals have realized that the business of holding billion-dollar infrastructure systems for ransom is a lucrative one, says Fend’s CEO and Founder Colin Dunn. Companies and government agencies work together to rustle up the ransom sum and put a halt to the chaos these attacks cause, such as the long lines at the pump after the Colonial Pipeline hack.

“They’re out for the money,” Dunn said. “It wasn’t until this year that they realized, ‘Oh, you can hold a pipeline company for ransom and everyone’s going to be really angry.’ I think we’re going to see more of it. Attackers are seeing how weakly defended these major major assets are.”

The $1 trillion infrastructure bill, signed into law last week, includes nearly $2 billion for cybersecurity. About $1 billion will go to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to modernize their systems to deter cyber attacks; $100 million will support a cyber response and recovery fund accessible to private-sector owners of critical infrastructure; and $21 million will go toward staffing the Office of the National Cyber Director, according to a U.S. Senate press release.

Dunn is encouraged by the allocation, as well as similar allocations in the American Rescue Plan Act.

“This is really unprecedented,” Dunn said. “I think the administration has seen these attacks, like the one on Colonial Pipeline… and they’re taking it really seriously, knowing that’s a threat that our enemies and criminals can hold over us — hold billion-dollar assets for ransom.”

Having the conversation now — when new infrastructure is set to be built — means that cybersecurity can be embedded from the beginning, rather than retroactively applied after an attack, he says.

“So much of the infrastructure that we are seeing fall under attack… we’ve had to apply cybersecurity way after these facilities were brought online. Now we’re talking about doing that up front,” he said. “Baking that early in the conversation is a big step forward and will be good for our security overall.”

The bill could be a boon for Arlington, which is home not to numerous cybersecurity companies, but also to “big players in energy,” he says. It emphasizes cybersecurity workforce development, which could be good news for a state and region focused on creating a pipeline of tech workers.

“There’s pretty much zero unemployment in cybersecurity, and expanding that nationwide is going to be really important, and here, where it’s a stronghold,” he said.

The bill does include a preference for U.S.-made goods and services, such as Fend’s cybersecurity products, which Dunn says will be helpful for supporting American businesses rather than the great deal of overseas competition.

He said he hopes the spending helps protect the U.S.’s growing renewable energy facilities, such as the solar farms that Fend secures. Securing renewable energy has long been one of Dunn’s priorities.

“If we lose our renewables, we’ll go back to burning more fossil fuels,” he said.

In this new world of infrastructure hacks, Fend has gained traction and business, Dunn says.

Most recently, Fend — located at 4600 Fairfax Drive in Ballston — announced a partnership with Federal Resources Corporation, allowing Fend’s products to be sold to more government agencies, such as the Department of Defense. That’s fitting, he says, because government funding helped Fend get started.

“Between them and NASA, there’s lots of funding flowing, which helps make the product readily accessible,” he said.

Earlier this year, Fend completed some additional fundraising and attained its third patent, he added.

Biden Visits Arlington for Vets Day — “President Joe Biden saluted the nation’s military veterans as ‘the spine of America’ on Thursday as he marked his first Veterans Day as president in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.” [WTOP]

Wet Roads Leading to Crashes — From the Washington Weather Geeks: “Please be careful out there this morning! Multiple crashes have been reported in and around the region. Wet [leaves] on the roads will help cause more hazards this morning. Slow down!” [Twitter]

Jury Duty Reminder — “Juror questionnaires were mailed in the form of a postcard with a website link in early August to 35,000 randomly selected residents of Arlington County and Falls Church City. Not everyone was chosen to receive the questionnaire. If you did not receive a postcard, there is nothing you need to do. These Questionnaires are used to qualify residents for jury duty which begins January 1, 2022, and ends December 31, 2022.” [Arlington County]

‘Missing Middle’ Study Update — “The most recent update revealed community support for the housing affordability, diversity, and supply that missing middle housing would bring. Competing concerns from homeowners have arisen regarding flooding, tree loss, and strain on infrastructure; though ultimately, existing patterns of development mean these issues already exist under the status quo.” [GGWash]

‘Spirit of Community’ Honorees — “As Arlington Community Foundation marks three decades of service this fall, this year’s Spirit of Community will honor three extraordinary people who embody Arlington’s Spirit of Community, Advocacy, and Volunteerism. In addition to recognizing these three extraordinary individuals, the program will feature Arlington youth and business leaders who have stepped up to meet the historic challenges of the last two years in inspiring and innovative ways.” [Arlington Community Foundation]

Lots of Ladybugs Around Area — “Multicolored Asian lady beetles are swarming in large numbers across the Mid-Atlantic because of late fall warmth. Also called ladybird beetles, this type of ladybug smells bad, can bite you and, if you squish it, produces a messy, yellow stain. This is another invasive insect that has found a home in our area.” [Capital Weather Gang]

WaPo’s Winter Forecast — “Overall, temperatures should work out close to average. Snow lovers are unlikely to be pleased as we’re projecting below-average amounts for the fifth time in the past six winters. We do, however, think we’ll top last winter’s snow totals… Alexandria, Arlington and Prince George’s counties and the District: 8 to 14 inches.” [Capital Weather Gang]

It’s Friday — Today there will be rain and storms until about 10 a.m., then gradually clearing through this evening. Sunrise at 6:48 a.m. and sunset at 4:56 p.m. Tomorrow there will be a chance of showers between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., otherwise it will be mostly sunny and breezy, with gusts up to 23 mph. Sunday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

On a gusty, very brisk fall evening, President Joe Biden once again visited Arlington to campaign for Terry McAuliffe.

“You don’t need to imagine how great a governor Terry McAuliffe will be because you know how great a governor he was,” Biden said, standing next to a basketball court at Virginia Highlands Park near Pentagon City.

With only a week until the general election and the former — and possibly future — governor clinging to a very narrow lead in polls over his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin, it certainly is notable that Biden is making his second Arlington appearance alongside McAuliffe in three months.

“The fact that he’s doubled down on McAuliffe is either a great sign or an ominous sign, depending on which side of the aisle you fall on,” Arlington Heights resident Tony Yang mused as he stood in the security line waiting to enter the event.

After McAuliffe made his remarks, Biden walked on the stage just after 8 p.m. and spoke for about 17 minutes. He spoke of McAuliffe’s record of Democratic leadership, often comparing Youngkin to former President Trump, and vouching for the Build Back Better plan that he’s trying to get passed in Congress.

He even dropped a specific Arlington reference about the planned new rail bridge that would replace the 117-year-old Long Bridge.

Biden also cracked the same joke he did in July about McAuliffe possibly being First Lady Jill Biden’s boss, due to her being a professor at Northern Virginia Community College, part of the state’s community college system.

Afterwards, the president did a photo line with a number of elected officials and candidates, while also taking selfies with a number of attendees near the stage.

The crowd — estimated by the White House at 2,500 people — was somewhat subdued throughout the nearly hour and a half event, perhaps due to the wind gusts and temperatures dipping into the low 50s.

Security was somewhat tight, though that didn’t stop Biden’s remarks being interrupted at least three times by protestors relating to the Line 3 pipeline, citizenship, and another matter that wasn’t immediately clear.

Prior to the event and outside of the park, a few Youngkin supporters made their case for their candidate while someone waved a giant Trump flag. There were also several PETA protesters dressed in blow-up dinosaur costumes to criticize the National Institutes of Health and the Biden administration for conducting experiments on animals.

The Younkin supporters, including Arlington GOP Communications Director Matthew Hurtt, could be seen holding signs saying “Virginia Runs on Youngkin” and “More Like Terry McAwful.”

Besides Biden and McAuliffe, a who’s who of Virginia Democrats spoke Tuesday evening in support of the ticket: Senator Tim Kaine, Rep. Don Beyer, Virginia Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn, lieutenant governor candidate Hala Ayala, Attorney General Mark Herring (who didn’t mention his lawsuit against Advanced Towing), current governor Ralph Northam, and Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti.

“Donald Trump is on the ballot next Tuesday,” said de Ferranti, also attaching Youngkin to Trump.

For some, having an event of this nature featuring a sitting U.S. president in their neighborhood was an experience that couldn’t be missed.

“It’s not a common thing that there’s a rally for a candidate you support is, literally, right by your house,” said Hania Basat, who lives in Pentagon City. “To have the president too, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Shelly Quintanilla agreed. She lives in Pentagon City with her husband and two young sons, ages six and one. For her, this rally was a chance to show democracy in action.

“We were really excited for the learning opportunity for the kids,” she said. “It’s better than school to learn about the president, the government, and our chance to get involved.”

For others, though, seeing the president — who arrived and departed via motorcade over the 14th Street Bridge — wasn’t that big of a deal.

“We have senators, congressmen, and Al Gore. He used to live up [there],” said Jim Kohlmoos, referring to the former vice president’s one-time residence in the nearby Arlington Ridge neighborhood. “We’re pretty much used to all of this.”

The view when @POTUS drives by your home. President Biden on a campaign event in Arlington County. @WTOPtraffic @WTOP @DildineWTOP @ARLnowDOTcom @ArlingtonVaPD #police #politics #potus #395cam #STATcam pic.twitter.com/hq9FnXWKUg

— Dave Statter (@STATter911) October 27, 2021

Candidate Questioned About Age — “Arlington County Board candidate Audrey Clement, who previously told news outlets that she is in her early 50s, appears to be two decades older, according to government records. When asked about the discrepancy, Clement, a perennial candidate who largely has self-funded her independent campaigns for local office, said that asking for her age amounted to discrimination and violated her right to privacy.” [Washington Post]

Road Closures for Biden Event — “On Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, President Joe Biden will attend a special event at Virginia Highlands Park, located at 1600 S. Hayes Street in Arlington. The event will take place from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The public can anticipate large crowds and increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area related to the event… All road closures are anticipated to be lifted by 10 p.m.” [ACPD]

DARPA Building Sold — “The home of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is under new ownership. An affiliate of Cleveland-based Boyd Watterson Asset Management has acquired the 13-story, 355,000-square-foot building at 675 N. Randolph St. in Ballston for $196.5 million, according to public records. An affiliate of the Shooshan Cos., which developed the building a decade ago, was the seller.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Name Change Celebration — “It’s now been 101 years, but that’s not going to stop the Arlington County government from celebrating the 100th anniversary of its current name. County officials expect to hold a celebration of the switch from ‘Alexandria County’ to ‘Arlington County’ on Friday, Nov. 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Lubber Run Community Center.” [Sun Gazette]

Marymount to Promote ‘Racial Healing’ — “In the latest example of Marymount University’s commitment to raising awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion issues, the institution has been selected by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to host a new Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center.” [Marymount University]

County Seeking Design Award Nominees — “Arlington County’s biennial design awards program, DESIGNArlington, is accepting submissions for great design in architectural, historic preservation, landscape and public art projects through December 6, 2021.” [Arlington County]

It’s Tuesday — It’s going to be a windy day. A slight chance of showers between 8am and noon today. Partly sunny, with a high near 65 and a northwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph into the evening hours. Sunrise at 7:29 a.m. and sunset at 6:14 p.m. Tomorrow it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 68 and more gusty winds.

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(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) President Biden is coming back to Arlington.

Like he did in July, Biden will be campaigning with Terry McAuliffe, who’s in the home stretch of his campaign for a second term in the Virginia governor’s mansion. The Democratic campaign event is scheduled to take place from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday at Virginia Highlands Park (1600 S. Hayes Street) near Pentagon City.

Those registering to attend must attest to being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. No signs are permitted at the event, says the RSVP page.

Biden previously campaign with McAuliffe at Lubber Run Park near Ballston.

McAuliffe will face off against his GOP opponent, Glenn Youngkin, in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Early voting is currently underway and taking place through Saturday, Oct. 30. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is tomorrow (Oct. 22).

McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014-2018, will also be coming to Arlington tomorrow. The Friday event to kick off his bus tour of the Commonwealth is scheduled to take place from 8:45-10 a.m. outside county government headquarters at Courthouse Plaza (2100 Clarendon Blvd).

(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) A day after declaring that vaccine booster shots were “not currently available,” Arlington started offering them.

“On Tuesday, August 17, Arlington County Public Health will begin offering an additional, or third, dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) to certain immunocompromised people,” Arlington County announced yesterday in a press release. “This follows FDA’s amended Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and the CDC’s adoption of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation.”

The vaccine booster shots are only available to those who attest that they qualify for them due to being moderately or severely immunocompromised. Those receiving the shots must also have already received two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, with the last dose administered at least four weeks ago.

While currently restricted to only certain vulnerable individuals, booster shots are set to become widely available — and encouraged — this fall.

From NBC News:

Top U.S. health officials announced Wednesday that the country has developed a plan to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to all Americans beginning the third week of September, citing evidence that protection is waning not only against hospitalization and death, but also mild and moderate infections, as the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread.

Arlington County, meanwhile, has been upgraded to an area of “high” community spread of COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The local transmission rate was deemed “substantial” by the CDC a couple of weeks ago.

As of Tuesday, neighboring Fairfax County and Alexandria were still seeing only “substantial” community transmission, a lower classification than “high,” according to the CDC website.

Arlington is recording about 33 new cases per day, or 14 daily cases per 100,000 residents, according to a 7-day moving average published this morning by Virginia Dept. of Health.

More on the booster shots, below, from the Arlington County press release.

People who are immunocompromised should speak to their healthcare provider to help decide if they would benefit from an additional dose. Moderately to severely immunocompromised people include those who have:

• Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
• Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response
• Individuals will be asked to self-attest (confirm) as having a qualifying condition at the time of vaccination.

Bring your vaccination card with you so your provider can fill in the information about your additional dose. Keep your vaccination card in case you need it for future use and consider taking a picture of your vaccination card as a backup copy.

At this time, an additional dose of vaccine is not approved for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or people who are fully vaccinated and not immunocompromised. The FDA and CDC continue to review evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of an additional dose for these individuals.

Arlington County encourages everyone 12 and older to get a COVID-19 vaccine, especially those who are immunocompromised or have close contact with immunocompromised persons. Arlington County Public Health Division (ACPHD) will only be offering additional doses for moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals at the Arlington Mill Community Center and Walter Reed Community Center clinics; they will not be available at field missions or “pop-up” events at this time.

Free walk-in and scheduled appointments are available at ACPHD’s clinics. Additional opportunities can be found at vaccines.gov; confirm with individual providers the availability of additional, or third, doses.