Health and Medicine
Carilion Clinic’s new Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer is Senior Vice President Nathaniel NL Bishop. His new position will include outreach efforts. Bishop sees his new position as a continuation of work he did as president of Jefferson College of Health Sciences, and as a senior associate dean at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine:
The first CVS COVID-19 vaccination slots in our region took almost no time to fill up. Sign-ups began today, and by 9:00 am, the following response appeared on the CVS website:
“We’re sorry, due to high demand the area you searched is fully booked or does not have any COVID-19 vaccine supply yet. If this location is listed as available on our COVID-19 Vaccine Resource Page, please check back tomorrow as new appointments are added daily.”
CVS is the first private pharmacy chain to take part in Virginia’s overall vaccination program. Its first vaccinations will take place Friday at locations that include Roanoke, Blacksburg, Bedford, Lynchburg and Martinsville. Others chains that include Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger are expected to follow in coming weeks and months, as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports:
CLICK HERE for the CVS COVID-19 vaccination signup page.
NEWS RELEASE: – The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) today announced that a case of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 has been identified in a sample from an adult resident of Northwest Virginia who recently returned to Virginia after international travel. The B.1.1.7 variant, which first emerged in the United Kingdom in late 2020, is associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. A preliminary report from experts in the United Kingdom indicates that this variant causes more severe illness than other variants, but more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
The Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) confirmed the case using next-generation sequencing that provides a genetic blueprint of the virus that causes COVID-19. DCLS has informed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the case. In addition to this case in the Northwest Region, Virginia has now identified three cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in the Northern Region, for a total of four cases with the B.1.1.7 variant in the Commonwealth. With our surveillance efforts, it is likely that additional cases will continue to be identified in Virginia.
Viruses change all the time, and VDH expects to see new strains as disease spreads. As our state public health officials closely monitor for the emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant and other variants in our Commonwealth, it is important that all Virginians comply now with mitigation measures. This means wearing a mask, staying at least six feet from others, washing hands often, getting vaccinated for COVID-19 when it is your turn, and staying home if you are infected with COVID-19 or if you have had close contact with someone with COVID-19.
DCLS began sequencing positive COVID-19 samples in March 2020, becoming one of the first public health labs in the nation to use this technology to examine the genetic makeup of the virus and track how it is changing and being transmitted in the Commonwealth. To date, DCLS has sequenced more than 10 percent of positive samples received by the state lab, and is working with other labs in Virginia to solicit additional positive samples to sequence so public health officials can get a representation of variants circulating throughout Virginia.
For more information about COVID-19 variants, visit the VDH COVID-19 Testing website and the CDC New COVID-19 Variants website. For more information on DCLS and its use of next-generation sequencing, visit dgs.virginia.gov/dcls.
Health care systems based in Roanoke, Lynchburg and Southside collectively report a 5% reduction in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the last week — and the number of COVID patients under intensive care and on ventilators decreased at a roughly similar rate. There is no breakdown of the numbers by specific health care system.
February 3 NEWS RELEASE: Here are updated numbers for the Near Southwest Region (which includes Carilion, Centra, LewisGale, Sovah, and Salem VA facilities) as of today:
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 328
ICU patients: 79
Ventilator patients: 51
Hospitalized PUIs (patients under investigation awaiting results): 27
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January 27 NEWS RELEASE: Here are updated numbers for the Near Southwest Region (which includes Carilion, Centra, LewisGale, Sovah, and Salem VA facilities) as of today:
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients: 345
ICU patients: 85
Ventilator patients: 54
Hospitalized PUIs (patients under investigation awaiting results): 39
CVS pharmacies will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines next week at 28 locations across Virginia, including Roanoke, Blacksburg, Bedford, Lynchburg and Martinsville. Sign-ups will be possible starting next Tuesday at the CVS web site and app or by phone, and the vaccinations will begin two days later. The drug chain says it is initially being allotted 26,000 doses statewide, and the vaccines will be administered only to those in eligible groups.
Click here for the signup page that is scheduled to open to Virginians February 9.
NEWS RELEASE: WOONSOCKET, R.I., Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Building on the company’s comprehensive efforts to help slow the spread of the virus, CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) will begin to administer COVID-19 vaccines to eligible populations on Thursday, February 11 at 28 CVS Pharmacy locations across Virginia.
For CVS Pharmacy locations that will begin to offer COVID-19 vaccinations on February 11, appointments will become available for booking as early as February 9 as stores receive shipments of vaccine.
“One of our greatest strengths as a company is our presence in communities across the country, which makes us an ideal partner for administering vaccines in a safe, convenient, and familiar manner,” said Karen S. Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer, CVS Health. “We continue to be grateful for the commitment of our frontline colleagues whose dedication has allowed us to deliver care and peace of mind throughout the pandemic.”
Vaccines at participating CVS Pharmacy locations in Virginia will be available to individuals meeting state criteria, which will confirmed by the state in advance of the rollout. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app, and people without online access can contact CVS customer service: (800) 746-7287. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided.
The availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Virginia is part of an initial 11 state rollout and includes approximately 335 CVS Pharmacy locations across California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas. Vaccines will eventually be available at CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the country subject to product availability, with the capacity to administer 20 – 25 million shots per month.
In addition to making COVID-19 vaccines available in local pharmacy locations, CVS Health continues to make progress in its effort to vaccinate residents and staff at more than 870 long-term care facilities across Virginia. As made clear by regularly updated data CVS Health makes publicly available, first doses at all facilities in the state that selected CVS Health to provide COVID-19 vaccinations will be complete by mid-February with second doses well underway.1
Liberty University President Jerry Prevo says he “messed up” when he encouraged a large on-campus snowball fight Sunday, one that created a social media firestorm showing large numbers of students in close quarters without masks.
FROM LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT JERRY PREVO: This past Sunday morning as I opened the curtains and looked outside, I saw a Liberty University campus covered in deep snow. Having lived in Alaska for the past fifty years, I own a lifetime of memories of joy spent in outdoor winter fun with friends. Lynchburg hasn’t seen a good snow in over two years and much of our student body comes from areas of the country that never see snow at all.
I donned my gloves and coat and headed outside and immediately engaged in some snowball fights with a few students. From that small beginning, I invited them to meet on the front lawn to continue the fun with more students. The student body took to the idea, they showed up in large numbers and had the snowball fight. I stood front and center and led this event.
I messed up. We did not think through or communicate the need to wear facial coverings and remain 6 feet apart in compliance with Virginia Governor’s Executive Orders for the suppression of the spread of COVID-19 or even our ownCOVID-19 Operations Plan. And the size of the group was not in compliance either.
We made a mistake in not enforcing the guidelines that we have followed routinely and sincerely for these many months. We have had a strong record of compliance and containment of COVID-19 from the start, and we want our community to know that Sunday’s snowball event was not done with a heart of defiance. The mistake was one of being caught up in the moment of the day. I and my leadership team apologize for not leading our students to abide by COVID-19 protocols during this event. I am truly sorry for how this activity may put our students and university in a negative light, potentially diminishing the hard work of many dedicated employees and volunteers. We rededicate ourselves to our solid commitment to communicating and reinforcing to students, faculty, and staff the mandate to comply with all COVID-19 policies, including physical distancing and the wearing of facial coverings.
In conjunction with this announcement, we have also taken down the social media posts about this event, which could tend to undermine a culture of compliance.
I am firmly committed to the health and safety of our students at Liberty University, as well as their spiritual and emotional health. We hope to foster more fun and excitement for our students in the days ahead, but we will do so while abiding by our health and safety protocols.
A survey we told you about on the Virginia Department of Health website last month entitled “When can I get vaccinated?” with the address ending in jebbit.com did NOT register survey takers in the state vaccination database, as some might believe. To get registered for a COVID vaccination, see the local health district on-line. That initial survey was just to indicate what group someone was in says Morrow. We have a link to register below. Dr Cynthia Morrow with the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health districts clarified that today:
Link to VDH registration form for COVID vaccination
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMeCQ3lAt5lqE3CHvNyUJ0gLFJVq5fLiidYkHS3xtktKPDTQ/viewform
State lawmakers are working on proposals to cover most public safety employees under workers’ compensation benefits if they die or become disabled from COVID 19. The benefits would be retroactive to last March if approved, applying to firefighters, EMT’s, law enforcement officers and correctional officers. The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee is working on a final version of the proposals. One not-yet-resolved issue: finding money in the current state budget to cover the additional expense. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
The Virginia Department of Health reports 194 new COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke Valley in the latest 24 hours — along with six new hospitalizations and three new deaths. The new cases were spread fairly proportionately in Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem and Botetourt County, but all three deaths are attributed to Roanoke City. Here is the daily breakdown :
Roanoke City:
6,757 cumulative cases (+70)
119 cumulative deaths (+3)
167 current hospitalizations (+2)
Roanoke County:
6,334 cumulative cases (+86)
76 cumulative deaths
119 current hospitalizations (+2)
Salem:
1,702 cumulative cases (+17)
33 cumulative deaths
49 current hospitalizations (+2)
Botetourt County:
1,834 cumulative cases (+21)
21 cumulative deaths
45 current hospitalizations