Richmond City Health District Nurse Manager Amy Popovich announces a summer vaccination campaign highlighted by a focus on mobile vaccination clinics in the city's most vulnerable communities. (Photo by Rodrigo Arriaza)
One week after Gov. Ralph Northam lifted all remaining social distancing and capacity restrictions across the state, city leaders and health experts say fully vaccinated Richmonders should feel safe about returning to pre-pandemic life, but to remain vigilant and encourage unvaccinated friends and family members to roll up their sleeves.
In an announcement video about the change, Northam cited revised federal guidelines, increasing vaccination rates and declining COVID-19 infection trends across the state as reasons for scaling back public health restrictions. Nearly 68% of adults in Virginia have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 56.6% of the adult population is fully vaccinated, according to Virginia Department of Health data. According to a New York Times report, Virginia is on track to reach a 70% vaccination rate among adults in 13 days, which is in line with President Joe Biden’s goal for 70% of the country’s adult population to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4.
While the statewide universal mask mandate and social distancing and capacity restrictions are no longer in effect by law, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said during a media briefing event on Wednesday that vaccinated city residents should encourage unvaccinated community members to attend a local vaccination drive and continue adhering to social distancing and mask usage in public spaces.
Stoney and Richmond City Health District Nurse Manager Amy Popovich also reminded city residents that private businesses still reserve the right to require customers and employees to wear face coverings, and masks are still mandatory in K-12 schools, health care facilities, and on buses and other forms of public transportation.
“I’m asking everyone out there to continue to roll up your sleeves; we are not out of this just yet. I’m glad to see that some restrictions have been lifted throughout the city, but we are still not out of this,” Stoney said. “[Those who aren’t yet vaccinated] should wear a mask and still adhere to social distancing guidelines, but I want you to know that your city is creating every opportunity possible for you to get vaccinated.
“I’ve seen more people out in parks, at restaurants and other businesses throughout the city, and I think that’s a positive thing, but we also have to remember that just because the restrictions have been lifted, [that] doesn’t mean the pandemic is over.”
Heading into this summer, the Richmond City Health District will pivot its focus away from mass vaccination drives in favor of smaller mobile events that target vulnerable communities in the city with low vaccination rates. Richmond is lagging behind the statewide average: Popovich said 51% of the city’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Popovich said small teams of nurses and outreach workers will be dispatched to community hubs such as grocery stores, churches and neighborhood events to hold walk-up vaccination clinics with the goal of conducting at least eight vaccination events throughout the city each week. Business and community centers also can sign up to host their own vaccination events at vax.rchd.com.
“This switch to much smaller teams will allow us to vaccinate and educate in more areas across the city and really meet people where they are,” she added.
Rebekah Butterfield, an epidemiologist with the Richmond City Health Department, says the new approach will allow greater access to the vaccine as well as more personalized opportunities to educate and address concerns about vaccination within the community.
Event venues across the city are taking note of the loosened restrictions as they prepare for the busy summer season. This Saturday’s Richmond Kickers game will be the first to return to 100% capacity since the pandemic began, while the Greater Richmond Convention Center has installed a host of anti-COVID protections including disinfection equipment, clear barriers to separate pedestrian traffic and touchless electronic door openers in preparation to host events including school graduations and the Oddities & Curiosities Expo later this summer.
Echoing Stoney, Butterfield said that fully vaccinated Richmonders should feel safe to go out to eat, gather with vaccinated friends and return to a semblance of normalcy. While lower COVID infection rates are a good indicator that more Richmond residents are getting vaccinated, she says part of the reason for the decrease could be a typical seasonal trend that sees coronaviruses and respiratory illnesses wane in the summer months.
“It’s important to understand [that] seasonality is temporary, but a vaccine is going to last a really long time, so we're watching these levels decrease, … but the caveat there also needs to be that some of the causes for the decrease may also be temporary, and so we really still need to lean into that vaccination, still need to lean into being conscious of community health and making good decisions for our own health and for the health of our community, because this doesn't necessarily mean the pandemic is over,” she says.
Butterfield also cautions against a possible resurgence of infection rates this fall as cooler weather pushes people indoors and large congregate settings like schools reopen fully for the first time in more than a year in some cases. While a 70% vaccination rate won’t yet achieve herd immunity, she’s optimistic that the state could avoid or handicap a fall surge if vaccination rates continue to trend upward in the months ahead.
“Vaccination will prevent further surges,” she says. “It's going to prevent the projected fall surge, and it's going to protect against a lot of these variants that are continuing to come into the United States and are starting to increase in numbers.”
For more information about upcoming community vaccination events, visit vax.rchd.com.
