[Archived] City of Alexandria Provides COVID-19 Updates; V-safe Health Checker Frequently Asked Questions; Clarification on Vaccination Scheduling Update

­­For Immediate Release: March 4, 2021

The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) strongly urge residents to stay home as much as possible. Stop the spread by wearing a mask over both your nose and mouth, staying home unless it’s necessary to go out, and washing your hands frequently. Without these critical steps, additional lives may be at risk. Pre-register to receive the vaccine and you’ll be notified once when you're eligible.

V-safe Health Checker Frequently Asked Questions

Individuals who receive a COVID-19 vaccine are asked to sign up with V-safe, the after-vaccination health checker. V-safe is a tool developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to understand how the vaccines affect recipients, from common side effects to adverse reactions. The CDC has developed a V-safe Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) webpage to help users understand how to access the tool; how it works; patient confidentiality; the pregnancy registry; how information provided helps the CDC; and whether medical advice is available through the tool. V-safe is a smartphone-based tool that uses web surveys to collect post-vaccine symptom information. The FAQ provides information for vaccine recipients who do not have smartphones but would like to submit a report of symptoms.  

Clarification on Vaccination Scheduling Update

On March 3, AHD provided a Vaccination Scheduling Update about those who have already been contacted for a vaccination appointment based upon eligibility group and pre-registration date. This update was meant to increase transparency about the vaccination process and to ensure that anyone eligible for vaccination within those category pre-registration dates knows how to reach AHD if they haven't been contacted to schedule an appointment. At this time, AHD cannot respond to requests about when the next eligible group or individuals will be vaccinated, because vaccine supply is limited and may vary. AHD is focused on scheduling appointments within the currently eligible pre-registration dates with the available vaccine doses.

Alexandria COVID-19 Data At-a-Glance

The chart below, containing the seven-day moving average number of COVID-19 cases and the daily and cumulative case and fatality counts, provides detailed information about how preventive measures are impacting Alexandria's response to the pandemic. An interactive version is available at alexandriava.gov/114883. Detailed data, including data on age, race and ethnicity, are available through links at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus.    

AHD estimates that approximately 1 in 20 Alexandrians who tested positive for COVID-19 have required hospitalization. An estimated 66% of Virginia adults who become infected never have symptoms. The best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 remain wearing a mask in public, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from others, and frequently washing your hands or carrying and using hand sanitizer. If you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, get tested. If you test positive for COVID-19, help loved ones and neighbors by informing your close contacts using “ What to Do If You Get Sick” guidance, which is available in Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, and Farsi or this brief video. Download the Virginia Department of Health’s COVIDWISE app to be quickly and anonymously notified of likely exposure to the virus.