State Sending More Vaccine to Arlington, County Says

Arlington County is speeding up its vaccination effort thanks to an increase in vaccine supply from the state.

The county revealed the vaccination news in a daily “COVID-19 update” email Friday afternoon, following Thursday’s announcement from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam that everyone in Virginia age 16 and older will be eligible to get the vaccine starting on Sunday, April 18.

The county will now work to accelerate through the current vaccination phase, 1B, as well as Phase 1C, which includes groups of other essential workers, before opening up to the general public in Phase 2.

“Based on an influx of vaccine supply at the state level, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has allocated an increase in local supply of vaccine to complete Arlington County’s aggressive vaccination schedule for the next three weeks in an effort to move to Phase 2,” the county wrote in the email.

“VDH has indicated all local health districts, including Arlington, will have enough vaccine to complete outreach to priority groups by the week of April 18,” the county continued. “Assuming that the necessary supply is received on schedule, we will hopefully then be able to reach Phase 2 open eligibility to the general public. Those at highest risk will continue to receive priority in the scheduling process.”

The county says it anticipates scheduling vaccinations for those in Phase 1C by mid-April, adding that Arlington is “committed to ensuring everyone on our priority pre-registration lists are notified to schedule appointments prior to going to Phase 2.”

As of Monday morning, 97,160 total vaccine doses have been administered in Arlington, and 32,706 people have been fully vaccinated, according to the state health department. Over the past week, an average of about 2,650 doses have been administered each day — a new local record, and nearly 2.5 times the vaccination rate one month ago.

Weekly COVID cases in Arlington, meanwhile, ticked up and hit a one-month high over the weekend. As of Sunday, 286 coronavirus cases had been reported over the past seven days, the highest seven-day total since March 2.

One additional COVID-related death was also reported over the weekend. No new hospitalizations were reported.

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