January 29th Newsletter
I have included below significant new information about the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in Virginia. Please review those details and share the information with family and friends. We need to encourage everyone to be vaccinated and to be patient as we wait for more doses to be delivered to Virginia.
In General Assembly news, I am very proud to announce that the House passed what I believe is one of the most significant bills we will consider this session: a bill to reduce vehicle emissions in the Commonwealth through requirements for the sale of low emission and zero emission vehicles. This legislation is the next logical and important step in addressing climate change, following our passage of the Clean Economy Act this past session.
I also encourage you to contact me now and throughout the session: please email my office at delrwillett@house.virginia.gov or call us at 804-698-1073. I will continue to keep you informed with relevant, accurate information via Twitter, Facebook, and my website.
Sincerely,
Rodney
New Information
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
This week the Governor and the General Assembly took significant steps to improve our COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. We all have been disappointed and frustrated with the vaccine’s initial rollout, however, it is important to acknowledge that this is a new process that requires significant coordination between local, state, and federal governments, as well as the private sector.
On an emergency basis, the House passed HB2333 to increase our Commonwealth’s capacity to administer the vaccine once a larger supply is available from the federal government. The bill expands the type of healthcare professionals that are eligible to administer the vaccine, allows for the creation of vaccination sites, and requires data collection and reporting by vaccinators to help to ensure vaccines are being distributed equitably to all communities. The bill passed the House unanimously and is in the process of being brought to the Senate floor.
The Governor held a press conference on Wednesday to provide updates on vaccine distribution in Virginia. He reported that more than 520,000 vaccination shots have been given thus far in the Commonwealth and that Virginia is currently averaging more than 26,000 vaccination shots per day. This is above the goal he set on January 14th of 25,000 shots per day, and he has now increased the goal to up to 50,000 and more each day.
While the biggest issue we have is a lack of vaccine supply from the federal government, there are many logistical challenges we can improve to speed up the vaccination process. We cannot solve this problem without understanding the logistical challenges we are facing, so here are a few of the major concerns that the state is working to address:
Gap Between Doses Distributed and Doses Administered
On the Virginia Department of Health COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, you can see a sizable gap between the doses that have been distributed when compared to the number of doses that have been put into arms. This has been very frustrating for many Virginians who are waiting to receive their first dose, and the state is working to reallocate unused supply and increase the pace of vaccine delivery.
During Phase 1a, only residents of long-term care facilities and health care workers were eligible to receive the vaccine. An overwhelming percentage of the lives we have lost during this pandemic has been in our long-term care facilities (LCTFs) so the federal government has contracted directly with CVS and Walgreens to manage these vaccinations. A large portion of our doses that have not yet been administered was distributed directly to these private partners. The Governor is pressuring these companies to increase the speed of distribution and has called on them to finish vaccination of all of their nursing homes and assisted living facilities by the end of January. If they are not able to meet this timeline, the Department of Health will begin to reallocate their remaining doses to other pharmacies that have relationships with these facilities to ensure that we are able to mitigate the spread in this very vulnerable population.
Another factor in the gap between doses distributed and doses administered is from the vaccine supply that was distributed to hospitals in phase 1a. Hospitals and health systems have administered the bulk of vaccinations in Virginia, but they are also a source of unadministered vaccine doses on shelves. During phase 1a, hospitals and health systems submitted their employee rosters and received enough vaccine supply to cover doses for all of the employees on their roster. While the majority of health care workers chose to receive the vaccine, some opted to not be immunized which led to a slight surplus of supply. There also was some uncertainty from health systems on whether they would receive additional doses to cover the second round of the vaccine, or whether they needed to hold on to their supply to ensure that their employees would be able to receive both doses. The administration is working closely with our health systems to clear up this concern and encourage them to partner with their local health districts to provide more large scale community vaccinations.
The last major factor in the reported difference between doses distributed and doses administered is a delay in reporting immunization information. Vaccine administrators of the COVID-19 vaccine are required to report each immunization to the Virginia Immunization Information System (VIIS). The Department of Health has put significant resources into improving the VIIS and is working with healthcare providers to troubleshoot any issues they experience in setting up their data entry systems. While this does not have an immediate impact on the speed of vaccination, it contributes to the discrepancy between distributed and administered doses. It is crucial that we have a system in place to efficiently track all immunization data, both so that we can monitor the success of our distribution plan and to ensure that vaccines are distributed in a way that is equitable across our population.
Expansion of Phase 1b
In response to the slow rollout of the vaccinations at the beginning of this year, the federal government encouraged states to expand Phase 1b to all individuals 65 and older, people aged 16-64 with certain medical conditions, and essential workers. Phase 1b was originally only targeted to cover essential workers, individuals 75 and older, and people 65 and older with certain medical conditions. Due to this expansion, over 50 percent of Virginians are now eligible to receive the vaccine, however, we have nowhere near the number of doses at this time needed to vaccinate everyone in this group. The federal government had told states that it could significantly increase supply to states to accommodate this increase in demand. However, in the past few days, there has been concern that the federal government will not be able to release the number of doses we had originally expected with the expansion of eligibility. This leaves Virginia in an unfortunate position of having a demand for doses that vastly outweighs any available supply, which will lead to longer wait times for a vaccine.
Lack of Federal Supply of the Vaccine
While there has been uncertainty between states and the federal government on the distribution of doses, the Governor announced on Wednesday that Virginia can expect to see a 16 percent increase in vaccine supply in the coming weeks. And while the supply is low there is more we can do to maximize the efficiency of each dose we receive. During the press briefing this week, the Governor reported that the administration is working on a new inventory management strategy to identify doses that vaccination facilities may be holding to use as the second dose and now get those vaccines into arms as a first dose. Hospitals and health systems also may be holding on to second doses of the vaccine due to anxiety around future supply, however second doses cannot be administered until 3 or 4 weeks after the initial dose.
The administration is working to speed up vaccine administration and strategically reallocate unused doses. From the federal government to states, and from our state to our health systems, security and confidence in the supply and distribution of doses are crucial to getting this vaccine into arms.
Register for the COVID-19 Vaccine
If you are 65 or older, an essential worker, or between the ages of 16-64 with a medical condition, you may be eligible to receive the vaccine in phase 1b. As I mentioned above, the demand for the vaccine vastly exceeds the supply, and Virginia is not expected to meet the demand for phase 1b until March or April.
Anyone eligible for Phase 1a or 1b based on occupation should check with their employer to see if vaccination arrangements have already been made and should otherwise register with the local health department in the locality where they work. Anyone eligible based on age or medical condition should register with the local health department in the locality where they live.
Virginia’s primary distribution of doses is allocated by the Virginia Department of Health to local health districts, in proportion to each district’s population. Local health districts are expected to determine the most equitable and efficient use of each allocation, leveraging any combination of their own staff and volunteers, hospitals, pharmacies, and individual providers. While local health districts are allowed flexibility in how doses are administered to eligible individuals, roughly half of the available supply should be used for people aged 65 or older. The other half should be used for frontline essential workers, people with high-risk medical conditions as identified by the CDC, and people in correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and migrant labor camps. Frontline essential workers should be prioritized in the order listed in the Phase 1b details.
To register with the Henrico/Richmond Health Department please fill out this online form. Unfortunately, it may be weeks or longer before vaccination appointments become available for those who have registered. Assistance in English, Spanish, and other languages is also available through the VDH Call Center at 877-ASK-VDH3 (877-275-8343). The Commonwealth is investing in a significant expansion of call center capacity in the coming weeks and is working with local health districts to ensure information and registration is available on their websites and by phone.
Extension of COVID-19 Public Health Restrictions
While the start of our vaccine distribution is a significant step towards overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial that we continue to wear masks, socially distance, test regularly, and limit interactions in public gatherings to keep our community healthy. Governor Northam has extended Executive Order 72, which was originally set to expire at the end of January, through February 28. EO 72 maintains the 10-person limit on social gatherings, the requirement to wear masks in public places, guidelines for businesses, and other provisions.
2021 Legislative Session
We are now over two weeks into our 2021 legislative session. Next week is our last week before we enter “crossover” where bills passed by either the House or Senate will be heard by committees of the opposite chamber. We are hard at work to make sure all of our bills are able to move through the committee process to advance to the floor in time to be sent over to the Senate.
One piece of legislation that I have been working on is HB1965, patroned by Delegate Lamont Bagby, which would change Virginia’s emission standard and create a low-emissions vehicle (LEV) and zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) program for motor vehicles with a model year of 2025 and later. These programs would require vehicle manufacturers to deliver an increasing percentage of low-emissions and zero emissions vehicles for sale in Virginia. Over half of Virginians would consider buying an electric vehicle, however currently it can be challenging to find these cars available for sale, leading Virginians to travel to other states like Maryland or North Carolina to purchase these vehicles. Transportation is the leading source of carbon pollution in Virginia. In order to take meaningful action to protect our environment, we must ensure that Virginia drivers have an option to choose a more environmentally friendly vehicle. The bill has passed the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources, and will soon be up for a vote on the floor.
While this bill will increase the supply of electric vehicles in Virginia, we also should consider legislative options to incentivize drivers to purchase LEVs and ZEVs. I have chief co-patroned HB1979 with Delegate Reid, which would create an electric vehicle rebate program to help bring down the cost of these vehicles for Virginia consumers, with a focus on helping lower income drivers to buy the vehicles. To eventually reach widespread electric vehicle use, we need a combination of LEV/ZEV standards, incentives for consumers, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Through these policies we can establish Virginia as a leader in clean transportation and make a critical investment in our environment for years to come. The bill passed Finance Subcommittee #3 this morning, I look forward to supporting the bill in the full Finance Committee next week.
I had five of my bills pass the House this week, with the remaining two set to advance to the floor early next week. Below is a bill matrix with updates on the legislation I have introduced:
I also want to highlight a few bills for which I am a Chief Co-Patron this session. The first is HB2203, patroned by Speaker Filler-Corn. The bill passed the House floor on Thursday and will be sent to the Senate. If passed there, it will establish the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program (VAFA) to allow Virginia farmers and food producers to donate, sell, or otherwise provide agriculture products to charitable food assistance organizations. The bill also creates the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Fund to provide funds for these organizations to reimburse farmers for any costs associated with harvesting, processing, packaging, or transporting any donated food. This bill will help support our struggling farmers and food producers, while providing Virginia grown products to our charitable organizations.
Another bill I have Chief Co-Patroned is HB2204, also introduced by Speaker Filler-Corn. This bill establishes the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fund which covers the cost of community college, including tuition, for certain low-income and middle-income Virginians pursuing a degree in certain high demand fields such as health care, information technology, and child care. Governor Northam originally created the G3 by executive order and this legislation would make the program permanent. G3 recipients are required to complete some community service hours as a condition of the program. At a time when so many people are facing economic hardship and uncertainty, this program will give Virginians an opportunity to enter a high demand field and give back to our communities and Commonwealth. This bill passed the House on Thursday and will head to the Senate for their consideration.
You can see a full list of all legislation I have introduced and co-patroned online here. It has been wonderful to be back in session but I truly miss the hustle and bustle of the Capitol and General Assembly Building and getting the chance to meet face to face with constituents from the 73rd district. Fortunately, video conferencing provides a good substitute for our virtual session. If you or an organization that you are involved with would like to schedule a meeting with me during session you can do so online here: https://calendly.com/delrwillett. If none of the times available work for you, please email delrwillett@house.virginia.gov and my staff will be happy to assist you.
