Virginia Society of Plastic Surgeons
 

Governor Northam's COVID-19 Briefing - 1/6/2021

  • Wednesday, January 6, 2021

TOPLINE UPDATES

  • Governor Northam appoints Dr. Danny TK Avula to lead Virginia’s vaccination program.
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci will join Governor Northam on Friday at 3:00pm for a question and answer hour.
    • Virginians can join through the Governor’s social media channels.

FORWARD VIRGINIA

  • Governor Northam stresses the importance of continuing to social-distance and wear a mask, even as the vaccine is being introduced in Virginia.
  • Case numbers across the country are almost four times higher now than they were at the perceived “peak” of the virus in Spring of 2020.
  • All guidelines for face coverings, businesses, and restaurants remain in place.

VACCINE

  • So far, about 115,000 Virginians have received their first dose of the vaccine, with about 2,000 having received their second dose.
  • In order to vaccinate the 8.5 million people in Virginia, about 17 million shots will need to be distributed.
    • Two injections per person
  • Currently, Virginia is receiving about 110,000 doses of the vaccine each week.
    • This includes both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
  • This works out to about 14,000 doses being distributed each day, an initial goal that has been met throughout the past 3 weeks.
  • The next goal is to distribute 25,000 doses each day.
    • This will depend on the consistency of the vaccine supply chain.
    • Once this goal has been met, the next will be 50,000 per day, until all Virginians have received the vaccine.
  • Governor Northam asks healthcare providers to distribute as many of the COVID vaccines as they can.
    • “If there are vials in freezers, give out shots until they are gone.”
  • Doses will be allocated based on usage, meaning that places that have not used all of their supply from a previous shipment, will get less doses in the next.
  • Data related to allocation of the vaccine will be made public.
    • This information, as well as resources regarding distribution sites and registration, will all be available on the VDH website.
  • People who are most at risk will be the first to receive the vaccine.
    • Group 1A: Healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, and EMTs), and those who live and work in long term care facilities.
    • Group 1B: Top essential workers (Firefighters, police officers, teachers, grocery store workers, transit workers, mail carriers, food and agriculture workers, adults 75+)
    • Group 1C: Other essential workers (Food service, transportation, utility workers, adults 65+, adults ages 16-65 with high-risk medical conditions)
  • These high priority groups make up over half of Virginia’s population, and have been chosen with the goal of helping as many Virginians as possible return safely to work.

COVID-19 CASES, STATISTICS AND MODELING

  • Total cases: 377,300
    • New in the last 24 hours: 5,387
  • Total deaths: 5,226

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