Health departments and local school systems are already planning to hold COVID-19 vaccination clinics for younger students.
The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control could expand authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine to the 12 to 15 year old age group within the next week.
Credit AP Photo/Orlin Wagner
The director of the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District, Dr. Cynthia Morrow, said plans are being made to get shots to that younger age group. We have been holding high school vaccinations for our 16 and 17 year olds. So far we’ve had pretty good success. Lower rates than we’d like to see, she admitted on a weekly conference call with reporters. Morrow said she held a planning call with school superintendents Tuesday morning.
For the first time in months, the number of weekly new COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke area has dropped below 200.
The director of the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District reported 194 weekly new cases Tuesday. There were 314 in the previous week, according to data presented by Dr. Cynthia Morrow.
Credit AP Photo / Matt Rourke, File
The number of hospitalizations also dropped from 36 to 26. Morrow noted that some other health districts in Virginia are not seeing declines in hospitalizations. Eight additional deaths were recorded over the past week. So it s cautious optimism that our case count has gone down a little bit and our hospitalizations have gone down. But I do think we need to remain cautious. We know that case counts are high in other parts of the country, Morrow told reporters during a weekly news conference.
Southwest Virginia health districts to focus on those still hesitant with community vaccination events
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ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City & Alleghany Health District has hosted several mass vaccination clinics, but the focus will soon shift to community-focused events. COVID-19 vaccine supply has exceeded demand. Local health leaders say going into the community will be their final shot to convince those hesitant to get their shot.
“Our job will be to try to make it more convenient,” said Roanoke City & Alleghany Health District Director Dr. Cynthia Morrow. “Look at Alleghany for example, 39% of the population has had at least one shot of the vaccine; 22% is fully vaccinated. If we look at Roanoke County, it’s 48% with one at least one vaccine and 33.9% that are fully vaccinated. We are going to see significant differences across our jurisdiction.”
Officials with the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District say demand for first COVID-19 vaccine doses has started to taper off.
Dr. Cynthia Morrow the district’s director says her team has now begun working on reaching various communities that might be hesitant to get a shot.
So there are so many different barriers and our job will be to try to look at different communities and look at what the barriers are and address those barriers, she explains.
Credit AP Photo / Matt Rourke, File This is part of what public health does; this is our job, this is our passion. And we will do what we need to do to ensure that people have the tools they need to get vaccinated.
Federal officials said Tuesday they are investigating unusual clots in six women. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects. Some Local Health Districts Impacted More Than Others
The impact of the pause on local health districts varies. The Richmond City Health District said Tuesday that four upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccination events are being changed to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Fewer than 750 people were scheduled for those events.
The Mount Rogers Health District had planned to administer 1,000 J&J doses at a clinic at Marion High School Saturday. It now plans to administer Pfizer vaccine.