This article has been updated since it first appeared in print.
Photo by Jay Paul
After spending most of the last year in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic, an end may be in sight. The state has accelerated its COVID-19 vaccination efforts after a slow initial rollout, with local health districts beginning to administer vaccines to essential workers, older residents, prison inmates and other high-risk groups in late January. The second round of vaccinations, Phase 1B, follows earlier drives that prioritized front-line health care workers. As of Feb. 15, 337,968 Virginians had received both doses of the vaccine, with the state averaging 35,427 administered doses per day.
This photo was taken at a vaccination clinic on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Richmond Raceway Complex, one of the state's largest mass vaccination sites. "We have been in a long, dark tunnel for about 10-plus months, and this vaccination is literally the light and the hope at the end of the tunnel," Gov. Ralph Northam said at a media briefing at the raceway in January. "If we all continue to work together, we can get there."
