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Barbershops like Another Level Hair Studio have partnered with the health department on vaccine
efforts. (Photo/Cody Mello-Klein)
As Alexandria attempts to hit its 80% vaccination target by the end of the summer, the health department and various city partners are encountering some challenges to overcoming barriers among the local Black community.
In Alexandria, 67.5% of adults age 18 or older have received at least one vaccine dose as of Tuesday, according to the Alexandria Health Department. But the city’s Black residents have received the vaccine at a lower rate than other race and ethnic groups relative to their proportion of the total population: Just 17% of those who have been vaccinated in the city with a race or ethnic designation identified as Black, though Black residents make up 21% of the city’s population.
Like their counterparts across Virginia, Alexandria’s healthcare workers are eager to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Demand for the vaccine is definitely there, as more than 20,000 city residents have registered to receive the inoculation, according to the Alexandria Health Department.
Many of those 20,000 are increasingly frustrated, however, as the problem rests with the supply: The city has not come close to vaccinating – or even scheduling vaccination appointments – for all of its eligible residents.
According to the Virginia Department of Health’s online data tracker, 9,473 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Alexandria as of Wednesday. Of those who received their first dose, just under one-tenth, 905 residents, have received their second dose. The reported numbers include vaccines administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pharmacy partnership with Walgreens and CVS.
To the editor:
Kudos to the Alexandria Health Department! My husband and I received our first doses of the vaccine Jan. 14 at T.C. Williams High School.
The online sign up was quick and easy. After registration we received emails offering us day and time slots. Confirmation was immediate.
On the day, the vaccination site was beautifully organized and extremely efficient.
Kudos also to the many volunteers who were there assisting. Every one of them was cheerful and friendly and helpful if one needed assistance of any kind.
The Alexandria Health Department should take a bow for a most impressive operation.
Alexandria educators hope vaccine is key for return to classroom Gov. Ralph Northam tours distribution site as city begins rollout Follow Us
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Dr. Stephen Haering (right), health director for the city of Alexandria, gives Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam a walkthrough of a coronavirus vaccine distribution center as the city began phase 1B of its rollout on Tuesday. (Gabriella Muñoz/The Washington Times) more > By Gabriella Muñoz - The Washington Times - Tuesday, January 12, 2021
The effort to reopen public schools in Alexandria got a shot in the arm Tuesday, when two educators were among the first to receive vaccinations at a COVID-19 vaccine distribution site in the city.
Alexandria, Virginia health officials interviewed hundreds of people diagnosed with COVID-19 last month and found three activities linked to viral transmission.