Virginia Surpasses 10M Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Administered

VIRGINIA — More than 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Virginia, a state with 8.6 million residents.

According to the Virginia Department of Health’s vaccine dashboard, 10,015,288 doses of the vaccine have been administered in the state as of Friday, up from 9,992,437 on Thursday.

As of Friday, 64.4 percent of the state’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 57 percent fully vaccinated. Among Virginians 18 and older, 76.5 percent have received at least one dose and 68.1 percent are fully vaccinated.

The VDH reports that 8,639,578 PCR tests have been conducted in Virginia as of Friday, with a 10.2 percent positivity rate from those tests over the latest 7-day period, down from a 10.4 percent positivity rate reported Thursday.

As of Friday, 1,892 people across Virginia were hospitalized with confirmed or test-pending cases of COVID-19, up from the 1,882 reported Thursday, according to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

The VDH reported 4,070 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, a smaller increase than the 4,255 new cases reported on Thursday. The number of new cases reported Thursday was the first time the state reported more than 4,000 COVID-19 cases in one day since Feb. 6 when 4,709 new cases were reported.

Avoiding Another Winter Surge

Across Virginia, 32 of the state's 35 health districts are designated "in surge," the most serious level with respect to COVID-19 infections, the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute reported in its latest modeling update on Thursday. Fairfax and Arlington counties, along with the city of Alexandria, are the only health districts in the state in "slow growth" status for new COVID-19 cases.

Increased mask usage and vaccinations across Virginia have improved model projections slightly, the UVA researchers said. While the researchers no longer expect Virginia will exceed January peaks, total case counts could still come close to historic highs in the coming weeks.

"Modeling indicates that in the short-term, mask-usage and social distancing is the most effective countermeasure against a fall surge," the researchers said. "But in the long-term, increased vaccinations could prevent tens of thousands of winter cases. It takes six weeks to achieve full vaccine efficacy. Unvaccinated persons hoping to gather for the holidays should plan now."

With the delta variant dominant in the state, models continue to project that cases will surge through the fall.

"Vaccination rates are still below herd immunity levels and the virus has room to run," the University of Virginia update said. "To lessen the projected peak, we must give vaccines time to have an impact. Increased mask usage and other prevention measures are already having an impact on the course of the pandemic."

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