RICHMOND — Virginia lawmakers have passed bills that allow certain first responders to file workers’ compensation benefits for being disabled from COVID-19, but still need to reach agreement on some differences.

Since vaccines began being administered locally in December, 13.7% of Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District residents have received at least one dose compared to 12.6% of Virginians statewide.  

The Virginia Department of Health is launching a statewide vaccination pre-registration system starting tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Only 2% of residents had antibodies by mid-August, statewide study reveals

A new set of guidelines was announced this late afternoon surrounding the pre-registration process to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the Rappahannock Rapidan Health District and elsewhere in Virginia.

This week CVS Health will become the first pharmacy in the commonwealth to offer vaccinations through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, but Virginia health officials are expressing frustration over the logistical hurdles to rolling out the pharmacy program equitably. 

As the coronavirus vaccine rollout continues to stutter along in Virginia, local service organizations and community groups are reaching out to Rappahannock County seniors to provide information and assistance with vaccine registration.

UVA Health among test sites examining effects in people exposed to virus

With Virginia’s public health officials announcing earlier this week that the first case of the United Kingdom variant of COVID-19 has been discovered in Northern Virginia, the urgency to administer vaccines has never been more pressing.

Rappahannock County’s sparse population nets fewer vaccinations for residents

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign is underway in the Rappahannock Rapidan Health District that serves Rappahannock, Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison and Orange counties, albeit a slow start. 

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The circle of Rappahannock residents eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations is beginning to widen, with the announcement on Tuesday that Rappahannock County Public School teachers and staff will start receiving their vaccines this week.

Virginians 65 and older, 16-64 with comorbidities, added to 1B group

The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District (RRHD) announced Friday afternoon that it has begun conducting closed “point of dispensing” (POD) COVID-19 vaccination clinics specifically for “Phase 1b” priority groups (the second such group), which includes anyone age 65 and older and those indivi…

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced on Friday that University of Virginia’s Dr. Cameron Webb has been appointed White House Senior Policy Advisor for COVID-19 Equity.

RICHMOND — Amid a steady increase in coronavirus cases throughout the state, two local Republican legislators are sponsoring bills to allow religious exemptions for vaccinations during public health emergencies.

‘You are trusted so much more than the outside non-Black world’

Over the past nine months, clinical trials conducted at the University of Virginia have led to new treatments for patients fighting COVID-19 and new tools for health care workers saving lives around the commonwealth and world.

By the close of today, nearly one-thousand frontline healthcare workers and first responder staff in the five-county Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District (RRDH), which includes Rappahannock County, will have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Anthony Fauci will join Virginia Governor Ralph Northam at 2:45 p.m. today, Friday Jan. 8, for a virtual webinar on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam delivered an update on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday afternoon and implored clinics to administer doses until they run out. 

The Moderna vaccine has arrived in the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District, which includes Rappahannock County, where the medical team is already finalizing plans to deliver vaccinations starting tomorrow (Tuesday).

There was much to celebrate earlier this week when hospital workers around the country began receiving inoculations that should protect them from the pandemic that’s killed more than 300,000 Americans.

Virginia reported its 300,000th COVID-19 case on Saturday, just 35 days after topping 200,000, and a new model from the University of Virginia predicts the state will see tens of thousands of new cases this winter before vaccinations begin to take effect.

Fauquier Health confirmed that they received the initial allocation of COVID-19 vaccines yesterday.

He’s not been sworn into office yet and already Rappahannock County’s 5th District Republican Congressman-elect Bob Good is making waves on Capitol Hill after calling the COVID-19 pandemic “phony” and mask-wearing a “hoax.”

As Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines arrive in America, local health officials are preparing to administer initial doses.

It’s been an unsettling week in Rappahannock County as COVID-19 continues its tight grip on a rural community that for months enjoyed relatively few cases of coronavirus in comparison to surrounding counties and other regions of the commonwealth.

Due to the local jump in confirmed COVID-19 cases, Fauquier Health on Friday afternoon implemented a zero-visitor protocol for its Warrenton hospital that went into effect immediately.

There are now two COVID-19 vaccines that, at least according to preliminary reports, appear to be 94.5 percent and 95 percent effective. Both were developed in a record-breaking 11 months or so.

‘Our people are tired ... It’s been a difficult week for the health district’

The Coffeewood Correctional Center in Culpeper County, where 214 inmates are currently infected with COVID-19, four of them hospitalized. Sixteen prison staff also have active cases. 

As of this morning, 29 inmates at the Rappahannock Shenandoah Warren Regional Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, marking a second outbreak at the facility since the beginning of the pandemic.

RICHMOND — Virginia localities are taking a number of precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at polling places even though masks will not be required. 

On the heels of Rappahannock County High School Principal Jimmy Swindler searching for ways to reduce an estimated 44 percent of students currently failing due to incomplete or late work, it was announced this week that an elementary school staffer has tested positive for the coronavirus.