Restrictions ease in a welcome sign
Virginia makes progress as it enters new phase with COVID-19 cases declining, vaccinations increasing
Virginia is officially loosening several of its coronavirus-related restrictions, but residents cannot use that as an excuse to eschew smart choices or ignore health guidelines from here forward.
The commonwealth has made compelling progress in the fight against the disease, recording a drop in the number of new cases and a sharp rise in the number of vaccinations administered. That prompted Gov. Ralph Northam last week to announce that he would ease several of the limits on gatherings and businesses imposed to keep the virus in check.
That’s an obvious sign of progress. But those hard-won gains are threatened by new variants of COVID-19 and will be reversed unless people continue to wear masks, practice social distancing and take reasonable precautions to protect themselves and others for the near future.
Today marks a milestone for Virginia. In-person gatherings of up to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors are now permitted. Entertainment venues must still operate at a reduced capacity, but the cap has been raised for both indoor and outdoor events.
Recreational sporting events can welcome a greater number of fans, and the Northam administration issued new guidelines to allow for safe in-person graduations at secondary schools, colleges and universities.
There is some unevenness in the details of those measures and plenty of room for reasonable argument about whether they will continue to effectively prevent community spread. But they are also signs of progress and a clear indication Virginia is emerging from the pandemic. That’s cause for celebration.
The commonwealth reached this point thanks to an acceleration in vaccine distribution, a rollout that has been cause for considerable frustration for far too many this year. Allowing that this is the largest and fastest vaccination program in history, it’s still fair to say things could have gone smoother.
Unreliable vaccine supply was a huge impediment. Early on, Virginia was promised more doses than it received, complicating the process of fulfilling appointments and getting at-risk populations vaccinated.
There was also not enough coordination and communication from Richmond, and the sign-up process shouldn’t have been left for individual cities and counties to handle. Centralizing the system through a one-stop process, administrated by the Virginia Department of Health, has helped immensely.
Ironing out those wrinkles took time, but Virginia is now administering nearly 60,000 doses a day and can boast more than 3.5 million doses administered. VDH reports more than 2.3 million commonwealth
residents have received at least one dose.
The governor expressed optimism about supply, noting that the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine was arriving in greater volume and will be another arrow in the quiver.
Supplies of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are coming to Virginia and going into arms at a steady pace. That’s all thanks to the army of health officials, medical professionals, service members and volunteers who are working tirelessly to administer doses.
Unfortunately, there are still problems to tackle.
It’s difficult to get a reliable measure of vaccine reluctance, but it exists. Some people will never get the vaccine, while others are persuadable if given more and trustworthy information. The federal government is set to launch a marketing campaign to encourage people to get their shot, but that may sway folks who are skeptical.
Virginia must also continue efforts to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine, especially to communities hardest hit by the disease. That means not just providing adequate supply to those Virginians, but also better and more consistent outreach to encourage vaccination when available.
“We all want to get back to normal, and the way to do that is to get vaccinated as soon as you can,” Northam said.
That should be the mantra echoing across the commonwealth today. President Joe Biden set Independence Day as a target date for being able to gather and celebrate with friends and family. That seems within our reach.
We’ll need to continue to exercise caution, to wear masks and practice social distancing, but the progress being made is exciting and undeniable.