Vaccinated Virginians Losing Patience, Shot For Children Coming Soon: Northam

VIRGINIA — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam provided an update on COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday as Pfizer booster shots are now recommended for more groups of people and vaccine authorization for children 5 to 11 is expected later in the fall.

Speaking during a news conference in Richmond, the governor noted Virginia's vaccination rate is 14th among states. A total of 80.1 percent of adults are at least partially vaccinated. Fully vaccinated people total 60 percent, including children.

Booster shots are only recommended by the FDA and CDC for certain groups who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. People with moderately to severely compromised immune systems can receive a third dose of the vaccine. It is recommended at least 28 days after the second dose.

A third dose of the Pfizer vaccine is also recommended for people 65 and older, people with underlying conditions and front-line workers. The timeframe for the booster shot is at least six months after the first dose.

A booster shot is not yet recommended for those who received the two-dose Moderna or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are still collecting data and filing their information with federal authorities, Northam said.

The governor said boosters will be offered on an "honor system." Vaccine providers will not be required to ask about qualifications or vaccination status. Vaccination sites can be found by location at vaccinate.virginia.gov.

As for children ages 5 to 11, Northam hopes federal authorization will come in late October or early November. He understands families with young children may be anxious to get them vaccinated, but the governor urged patience.

"It takes more time to conduct this research for children because children are not just little adults," said Northam, who has experience as a pediatric neurologist. "Their bodies develop in different ways at different rates. It's more complex and everybody wants to make sure that the science is right and everything that we do for our children will be safe."

Northam said Virginia will be ready with supplies and the logistics when authorization does come. Health departments are planning with school divisions to provide vaccinations where possible.

"When the time comes, we'll be ready because we want to make sure this is as easy on parents and children as possible," said Northam.

Children aged 12 to 15 became eligible for the Pfizer vaccine in May. Northam estimated there are about 420,000 children aged 12-15 in Virginia, and about 63 percent have at least one shot.

That rate varies across state, however. In places like Highland County in western Virginia and Patrick County in southern Virginia, only 17 percent of children 12 to 15 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The highest reported rate is in the City of Alexandria, where 98.5 percent of children 12 to 15 have at least one shot.

Neighboring Arlington County has about 92 percent of children 12 to 15 vaccinated. Francisco Durán, superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, said there is a vaccine mandate for staff, with 91 percent of instructional staff vaccinated. There is a testing option for unvaccinated staff.

"The model that we use in both of those cases is to provide clinics that are available during the day, during the afternoons, evenings and weekends," said Durán. "And we'll do that again, and we're prepared to do that again for our [students] 5 years and older."

The superintendent noted the school district works closely with the Arlington Health Department and also offers a weekly testing for families who want it.

Northam defended his mask mandate in K-12 schools, which aligns with CDC guidance. He cited a recent CDC study in Arizona that found schools without mask mandates are three-and-a-half more times likely to have COVID-19 outbreaks than schools with mask mandates. Another CDC study of 520 counties found pediatric case rates were higher in schools without mask mandates since school started.

"The science is clear: masks in schools help protect our children, and vaccines protect our children, too," Northam said.

COVID-19 Data Update

In the past few days, the number of new COVID-19 cases has been trending down, and the hospitalization rate is stabilizing in Virginia, Northam said.

But the positive cases numbers are still way too high. "Ask any exhausted nurse in any hospital in Virginia," he said.

On Monday, the Virginia Department of Health reported 1,997 new COVID-19 cases, a smaller number than a few weeks ago but far more than the start of summer when there were fewer than 100 cases in one day.

For the people who have followed the guidelines and who have made the effort to protect other people and themselves by getting vaccinated, "their patience is wearing thin," Northam said.

The data shows that nearly everyone getting COVID-19 is unvaccinated, he emphasized.

Northam highlighted the dramatic spike in new COVID-19 cases in Virginia from late June through early September. "This all was avoidable," he said. "Nearly every single one of these is a person who has chosen not to get a shot."

Vaccines are "incredibly safe and effective" and were produced based on years of research, according to the governor. Data from millions of vaccinated people around the world show few serious side effects, he added.

"By choosing not to get vaccinated, you are absolutely hurting other people. Unvaccinated COVID patients are the people filling up our hospitals right now, making it difficult for everyone else to get the hospital care they need," Northam said.

Across the United States, $5 billion has been spent on hospital costs to treat people with COVID-19 despite the existence of a vaccine to prevent the hospitalization, according to the governor.

"I had COVID back before the vaccines existed," he said. "Believe me, you don't want to get it. A year later, I still can't smell anything or taste anything. And now the COVID variant that's going around is a lot worse than the one I had back in September [2020]."