(Updated at 4pm) Arlington County Public Health Division officials say they are not wasting doses of the coronavirus vaccine, but they also do not tolerate people being vaccinated out of hours.
During a COVID-19 working session on Tuesday, County Council members told health division staff that their constituents often express concerns about line skips by those who currently do not qualify for vaccination under the guidelines Virginia Department of Health Phase 1b.
“Everyone knows someone who is not in the category of 75 or over or the personnel identified yet, but has been vaccinated because of their ophthalmologist, brother or psychiatrist,” said board member Katie Cristol, listing the types of connections people are supposed to be using.
Arlington County Director of Public Health, Dr. Reuben Varghese, acknowledged these fears, but said that, in the midst of everything else that is going on, officials are unable to verify these allegations. Team members remove people from vaccination appointments if they notice anything unusual, he said.
“I have to believe that Americans as a whole and Arlington residents are going to be sincere and not skip the line,” said Varghese. “I know people are going to say ‘you’re being naive’, but we don’t fragment people and we don’t have a national health system that we can track people with. The vast majority of people did the right thing and, because of what we are doing in Arlington, we have no conditions in which I think the linear jump will be as likely as elsewhere ”.
Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the municipality reaches 11,867, with 61 new cases and three new hospitalizations until this morning (Wednesday). The seven-day average of new cases has dropped in the past few days, and currently stands at around 65 cases a day, after peaking at almost 125 cases daily three weeks ago.
“This one [wave] doubled, if not more than doubled, what we saw in the past, ”said Varghese.
Last week, January 24-30, about 6,500 tests gave 482 positive results, said Aaron Miller, county director of emergency management. The test’s positive rate remains at 7.5%, which is high compared to most of the pandemic, he said.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, Arlington County received 26,725 doses of vaccine. The newest shipment of 2,700 doses arrived Monday, for a total of 9,775 doses for the health division, compared with the total of 16,675 doses that went to the Virginia Hospital Center, said county manager Mark Schwartz. He added that the online panel could be wrong by about 200 doses.
The municipality is also starting to prepare for a new method of distribution: yesterday, the federal government announced that it will begin sending vaccines to selected pharmacies next week.
“Now our job is to get back to the state and find out what that means for the state and for Arlington,” said Miller.
Varghese also refuted the claim of missed doses. Last week’s usage rate – shown in the chart below – was so close to 100% that it “crossed the threshold,” he said. He is currently trying to reserve 10% for the beginning of next week, as new shipments arrive on Monday or Tuesday.
He said that if vaccines are close to expiring, the county chooses groups below the priority 1B list to vaccinate. As such, the county does not encourage loitering outside the clinic at 2100 Washington Blvd. or near supermarkets for casual shots, which “creates other problems,” he said.
(Group 1b includes “People aged 75 and over; Police, Fire and Hazmat; Homeless shelter brokers and workers; Daycare / Teachers / elementary and high school employees; Food and Agriculture (including Veterinarians); Manufacturing; Workers in grocery stores; public transport workers; courier carriers (USPS and private); employees needed to maintain government continuity. ”)
Meanwhile, team members have scheduled about 1,900 appointments for people 75 and older who have had their HCV consultations canceled. Of the 3,200 people in this category, about 3,000 were contacted. They are also contacting people aged 75 and over who were not part of the hospital system.
This is the only group for which the county is rescheduling appointments at this time, Varghese said.
Those who are 65 to 74 years old or 18 to 64 years old with high-risk medical conditions must pre-register with the municipality, regardless of having consultations at the HCV.
As soon as people arrive at the county clinic, at the Sequoia Plaza office complex near Route 50 and Washington Blvd, they are greeted by a team of volunteers and nurses. According to a behind-the-scenes video from the county, between 50% and 75% of the staff working in vaccination clinics are volunteers.
“I know there are frustrating things going on across the country and even in Arlington, but I promise that when you get here, you will have a great experience and help end the pandemic just by getting a vaccine,” said Dallas Smith. , the director of the Arlington County Vaccination Pod website, in the video.
Archive photo