Times News Blog: Latest on local impact of COVID-19

The Times News staff is working to provide the latest updates on schedule changes, local decisions and news related to COVID-19 (caused by the novel coronavirus) in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. If your church, business or agency has community announcements related to coronavirus concerns and prevention, please email us at [email protected].

Northam eases restrictions on school, college graduations

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🔹 The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced today that Federal Retail Pharmacy partners will expand within Phase 1b to offer vaccines to individuals who are 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions, as well as frontline essential workers. There are more than 300 pharmacies currently receiving vaccines within this federal program, which has the ability to expand to over 1,000 pharmacies across Virginia. Individuals who are interested in getting vaccinated at a local pharmacy may visit  VaccineFinder.org to find eligible pharmacy locations, hours, phone numbers and scheduling links where available.

🔹 Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam today released preliminary guidance for how K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, may safely hold in-person graduation and commencement events this spring. These tentative plans have been reviewed with education officials and are expected to be included in an April 1 update to Third Amended Executive Order Seventy-Two. Graduation events held outdoors will be capped at 5,000 people or 30 percent of the venue capacity, whichever is less. Graduation events held indoors may have up to 500 people, or 30 percent of the venue capacity, whichever is less. Attendees must wear masks and follow other guidelines and safety protocols to ensure proper distancing. Preliminary guidance for safely holding graduation and commencement events can be found here.

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COVID-19: Region adds 102 new cases; seven-day positivity rate hits 10%

COVID-19 in SWVA: LENOWISCO district daily cases reach 13

No tears: VDH hosts first Wise County COVID-19 vaccine clinic with Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Hours after announcement, ETSU Health vaccination clinic appointments reach capacity

Tuesday, March 16
News updates

🔹 The Northeast Region County Health Departments have COVID-19 vaccine appointments available for individuals in Phase 1c of the Tennessee COVID-19 Vaccination Plan which include residents 16 years or older with high-risk medical conditions, caregivers of people with high-risk medical conditions and pregnant women. Tennesseans including residents of Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties can find out if they’re eligible and register for Phase 1c of the vaccination plan by visiting https://vaccinate.tn.gov/.

🔹 The Tennessee Department of Health is working with partners across the state to ensure continued equitable and efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the community. Vaccination appointments are currently available at county health departments in every grand division of the state. Tennesseans in Phases 1a1, 1a2, 1b and 1c of Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan and those aged 65 and older are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. More than 1.3 million Tennesseans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 17.5% of Tennessee’s population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Tennessee is ranked 12th in the nation for the percentage of second doses completed.

🔹 The Cumberland Plateau and LENOWSICO Health Districts will begin posting available appointment slots for COVID-19 vaccine clinics on the health districts’ Facebook social media page 24 hours prior to a vaccine clinic. These appointment slots are for those age 65 and older or for those ages 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions. Health department staff are first filling appointments from the waitlist via email or phone appointment offers. If clinics still have slots available within 24 hours of the clinic start time, a registration link will be posted on the district Facebook page.

🔹 The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced today that some health districts will begin the transition to Phase 1c vaccinations this week, and that all communities across Virginia should be able to open to this group of essential workers within weeks. All communities are expected to move into Phase 1c by mid-April. Anyone over age 16 who lives or works in Virginia will be eligible for a vaccine in Phase 2, which is expected to begin by May 1.

🔹 ETSU Health is hosting a weekend COVID-19 vaccine clinic March 20-21 by appointment only for members of the community who are eligible for a vaccine under Tennessee’s roll-out plan (currently individuals 65+ and those in groups 1a1, 1a2, 1b and 1c). The ETSU Health vaccine clinic will administer Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, which only requires one shot. Appointments are available online at ETSUHealth.org for Saturday, March 20, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or on Sunday, March 21, from 2-6 p.m. The vaccine clinic will be held in ballroom at ETSU’s Millennium Center, located at 2001 Millennium Place. Patients with appointments may park on the third level or above in the parking garage adjacent to the Millennium Center and follow the signs to ballroom.

🔹 The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) have started to open Community Vaccination Centers across the Commonwealth to administer COVID-19 vaccinations on a larger scale. The site in Danville opened March 15; the site in Portsmouth will open March 16; Petersburg will open March 17; and Prince William is scheduled to open next week. All of these events are by appointment only and no walk-ins will be accepted. Individuals, who have pre-registered for the vaccine and are eligible under the state’s current phase for distribution, will be contacted to make an appointment to receive their vaccine doses. To pre-register, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or call the COVID Vaccine Hotline at 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682).

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NETN adds 83 new COVID-19 infections; seven-day case rate highest since Feb. 25

Health districts will post available vaccine clinic slots, LENOWISCO district daily cases climb above 10

Health Wagon, Virginia Dental Foundation cancel free clinic

'We're heartbroken': Rogersville Boys and Girls Club won't be reopening

Johnson & Johnson vaccine set for LENOWISCO Health District COVID-19 clinic

Monday, March 15
News updates

🔹 Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and First Lady Pamela Northam both received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine today. Members of the Virginia National Guard administered the vaccinations as part of the first deployment of mobile vaccination teams starting this week. Virginia is now administering nearly 53,000 doses per day on average, with more than 2.7 million doses given to date. Almost 1.8 million Virginians—21 percent of the population—have received at least one dose, and more than one million Virginians are fully vaccinated.

🔹 The Lenowisco Health District will hold a 500-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccination clinic on Wednesday, March 17. This is an appointment-only event. Appointments will be offered, via phone and email, to those who are on the state pre-registration list. Eligible individuals are all those age 65 and older, ages 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions and certain frontline essential workers. To pre-register for COVID-19 vaccine at future events within the Lenowisco Health District, visit www.vaccinate.virginia.gov. For questions regarding COVID-19 vaccine within the Commonwealth of Virginia, contact the Virginia COVID Information Center at 1-877-VAX-INVA (1-877-829-4682).

🔹 East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy partnered with three area community pharmacies to hold a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at First Baptist Church in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Saturday, March 6, administering over 500 vaccines. Since December, Gatton College of Pharmacy has volunteered at independent pharmacies, grocery stores, assisted living facilities, hospitals and health departments from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Hillsville, Virginia, administering over 25,000 COVID-19 vaccinations. The college volunteered more than 150 hours at the Greeneville event, bringing the total to more than 1,200 hours for its COVID-19 vaccination events.

🔹 The Supreme Court of Virginia unanimously extended its Declaration of Judicial Emergency through April 18, 2021. The Period of Judicial Emergency now extends from March 16, 2020, through April 18, 2021. The Declaration of Judicial Emergency may be extended for additional periods.

🔹 Statewide stay-at-home orders put in place as Tennessee fought to control the spread of coronavirus last March were associated with a 14% lower rate of preterm birth, according to a research letter published today in JAMA Pediatrics. Preterm infants have higher morbidity and mortality risks than babies born at term. The study is the first in the US to confirm the trend that more persons staying at home, essentially on forced bed rest, reduced the number of late pre-term infants (34-35 weeks).

🔹 The University of Tennessee Gardens, Knoxville, will host its annual Spring Spectacular Plant Sale online in a virtual format amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The online sale will open March 26-28 for UT Gardens members only and will be available to the public starting March 29. The last day to make purchases is April 5, and a zero-contact plant pickup is available by appointment only April 9-10. In addition to early shopping opportunities, members of the UT Gardens receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases. Memberships may be purchased online at utgardens.tennessee.edu. The UT Gardens website will also have a catalog of available plants posted soon. The sale will feature a diverse collection of expertly selected shrubs, conifers, trees, perennial and annual flower and foliage plants, edibles and much more.

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COVID-19 in SWVA: LENOWIS