First case of U.K. COVID variant detected in Virginia

Va. COVID-19 deaths remain steady; vaccinations rising

Published January 25, 2021 by Kate Andrews

Updated 3:25 p.m., Jan. 25: The Virginia Department of Health announced Monday afternoon that Virginia has recorded its first case of a variant strain of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom late last year. It’s known as the B.1.1.7 variant, and so far, the United States has recorded nearly 200 cases of this mutation of the virus, which appears to be more contagious than the earlier version.

The patient with the case in Virginia is an adult in Northern Virginia with no reported recent travel history. Virginia’s Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, which conducts much of the state’s COVID testing, identified the variant through sequencing.

“Viruses change all the time, and we expect to see new strains as disease spreads,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said in a statement. “We know this variant strain spreads more quickly between people than other strains currently circulating in our communities, but we still have more to learn about whether it causes more severe illness. As our state public health officials closely monitor the emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant in our commonwealth, it is important that all Virginians continue following mitigation measures.”

Moderna has said that its vaccine so far is still effective against emerging strains such as the B.1.1.7 variant. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that the U.K. variant may be more deadly than other COVID-19 strains, as well as being more transmissible.

Earlier: 

Virginia saw a decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases last week compared with the previous week, but the number of deaths recorded last week remained steady, with approximately 49 virus-related deaths per day or two deaths per hour. Meanwhile, the number of vaccines administered improved significantly last week, drawing closer to the state’s short-term goal of 25,000 vaccinations per day.

The state has received ample criticism due to its apparent lag in vaccinations, but Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator, set up a 10-person team last week to focus on making sure data entry is current, one of the chief problems reported by state officials. On Friday, Avula said he expects the state will continue to receive between 100,000 and 110,000 doses each week for the next four weeks and that they will be distributed to localities based on population, taking into account the number of elderly people in communities.

According to the Virginia Department of Health’s vaccine dashboard, 522,853 doses have been administered, out of 1,105,700 doses received by the state — a rate of 47.2%, an improvement from earlier in the month, when the rate lingered below 25%. This works out to a rate of 21,823 vaccinations per day over the past week, closer to the governor’s stated short-term goal of 25,000 shots per day. Avula says the state’s ultimate goal is to administer 50,000 shots per day but added that Virginia will need to receive more vaccine doses to meet that goal.

As the nation surpassed 25 million COVID cases in recent days — more than a quarter of the world’s cases, despite the U.S. making up only 4% of the global population — the Biden administration has promised to ship 100 million vaccine doses to health care providers in the next 100 days. That pledge depends heavily on pharmaceutical companies’ production schedules, including the approval of new vaccines by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Avula said that the state’s efforts to keep its vaccination numbers current has one particular challenge: Pharmacies working directly with the federal government to provide vaccines to long-term care facility residents and employees. CVS and Walgreens report their numbers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which then sends the information to state health departments, creating a time lag, Avula noted.

Out of about 240,000 doses received by pharmacies in Virginia, only 61,760 vaccinations are currently recorded on the VDH dashboard — which is likely below the actual number administrated, Avula said. This week, the state is working with pharmacies to reallocate some doses to other facilities — including locally owned pharmacies — to more quickly vaccinate long-term care facility residents and workers.

Also, he added, although nursing home residents are eager to receive vaccinations — at the rate of 70% to 80% — staff members are wary, with only 30% to 40% getting vaccinated when first offered the opportunity. Avula said more employees are accepting shots when their coworkers get a second dose, but the stats nonetheless underline the need for improved communications about the COVID-19 vaccine.

In the past week, the state recorded 32,069 new cases  — down from 43,164 new cases the previous week — and 342 more deaths, bringing the totals to 478,619 cases and 6,081 deaths as of Monday, Jan. 25. The current seven-day positivity rate is 12.6%, as of Jan. 21.

According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, 2,892 people with COVID or with tests pending are currently hospitalized in the state, and 34% of the state’s ventilators are currently in use for patients with and without the virus. Also, 55% of all ICU beds, including surge beds, are in use.

As of Monday, all of the state’s health districts have entered phase 1b, VDH reports. Although demand is currently higher than supply, people who qualify for group 1b — including Virginians 65 and older, essential workers and people with certain health conditions between the ages of 16-64 — are eligible to receive vaccination.

As of Jan. 21, most of the state’s health districts have positivity rates above 10%. The state’s highest rates and/or sharpest one-week spikes are in the following districts:

• Portsmouth — 22.3%, up from 19.6% on Jan. 14
• Chesapeake — 21.6%, down from 22.8%
• Lenowisco (Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the city of Norton) — 18.7%, down from 19.1%
• Central Virginia (Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell counties and Lynchburg) — 18.3%, down from 21.5%
• Hampton — 18.3%, up from 17.0%
• Norfolk — 17.4%, same as last week
• Mount Rogers (cities of Bristol and Galax and counties of Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Washington and Wythe) — 17.1%, down from 18.9%
• Virginia Beach — 16.9%, down from 17.8%
• Pittsylvania-Danville — 16.7%, up from 15.9%
• West Piedmont (Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties and the city of Martinsville) — 16.3%, down from 19.7%

These are the 10 Virginia localities that have seen the most cases in the state, as of Jan. 25:

• Fairfax County: 57,164
• Prince William County: 33,739
• Virginia Beach: 24,600
• Loudoun County: 18,848
• Chesterfield County: 18,005
• Henrico County: 17,411
• Chesapeake: 14,590
• Norfolk: 12,117
• Richmond: 12,109
• Arlington County: 11,269

Globally, there are 99.3 million reported COVID-19 cases and 2,131,532 confirmed deaths, as of Jan. 25. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 25.1 million confirmed cases so far, with 419,263 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February.

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