By Randy Arrington
LURAY, July 5 — The vaccination rate for COVID-19 continues to slow down in Page County and across the Commonwealth, but so are reports of new cases, related hospitalizations and related deaths.
The Virginia Department of Health only reported two new cases of COVID-19 in Page County over the past week, compared to nine cases the previous week. There were no cases reported in the past four days. Page saw one hospitalization related to the virus reported on Thursday, the same day as one of the two cases. No pandemic deaths have been reported in the county since June 18.
As of Monday, Page County’s positivity rate stands at 3.6 percent. Over the past week, the rate reached a high of 5.2 percent on Thursday, and a low of 2.4 percent one week ago.
A total of 187 COVID-19 vaccinations were administered in Page County over the past week — down from 291 the previous week and marking a third consecutive week of decline. The number of local residents receiving at least one dose grew by 81 in the last seven days (down from 159 the previous week), while the number of fully vaccinated residents increased by 117 (down from 165). As of Monday’s report by VDH, a cumulative total of 16,718 vaccinations have been given locally, with 9,214 people in the county receiving at least one dose and 8,197 fully vaccinated.
While Virginia touts having 71.5 percent of the adult population vaccinated with at least one dose, Page County reports only 46.7 percent. The Commonwealth also states that more than half of its total population is fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (51.2 percent), Page County reports just over a third at 34.3 percent.
Statewide, Virginia has administered more than 9.1 million doses of vaccine, with nearly 5.1 million receiving at least one dose and nearly 4.4 million individuals, or 62.1 percent of the adult population, fully vaccinated. Just before Memorial Day, the Old Dominion was averaging 50,111 vaccinations each day — over the past week, that figure has fallen to a daily average of just 13,747.
The Lord Fairfax Health District reported 72 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week, up from 44 the previous week. There were seven hospitalizations reported (compared to six) and only one related death (four last week).
After seeing the least amount of coronavirus activity within the health district throughout the pandemic, Clarke County saw a spike over the past week, reporting a total of 31 new cases. That total included 12 cases reported on Wednesday, 10 on Friday and eight over the weekend. Those cases resulted in two hospitalizations.
Frederick County saw 15 new cases over the past week and reported the district’s only pandemic death — the county’s 103rd — over the weekend.
Virginia’s seven-day positivity rate is currently 2 percent, up slightly from 1.6 percent a week ago. The commonwealth’s daily case count has averaged 182 over the past week, an increase over 165 the previous week (and 136 the week before that).
Statewide hospitalizations related to COVID-19 were fairly stable over the past week totaling 227 as of Sunday, with 51 patients in ICU and 33 on ventilators. The state reported 29 deaths related to the virus over the past seven days — down from 42 the previous week — and a total of 11,431 since March 14, 2020.
With increased vaccination rates, public health metrics trending in the right direction, and revised federal guidelines, Virginia ended all COVID-19 mitigation measures on May 28. The state of emergency that Governor Northam declared on March 12, 2020 in response to COVID-19 expired on June 30.
Unvaccinated individuals and those who are not fully vaccinated should continue wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces in accordance with federal CDC guidance.
Vaccines are available by pre-registration and appointment. To pre-register, or to update your pre-registration record, visit www.vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682). English- and Spanish-speaking operators are available. Translation services also are available, in more than 100 languages. For TTY, dial 7-1-1.
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