News

Showing: 1441 - 1450 of 3,373 Articles
Featured News Video

VHHA: 480,000 COVID-19 Vaccinations Expected In First Wave

There are a lot of questions about the COVID-19 vaccines — which are safe, which are ethical, when will they be made available, and who will get them first.

The Virginia Healthcare & Hospitals Association (VHHA) are already fielding questions and comments surrounding the new vaccines, and while there are at least four of them to choose from, VHHA is doing its best to get as much information out to the public as possible.

In that spirit, VHHA made a helpful and short video about what the initial rollout is going to look like:

  • In the first wave, 480,000 vaccines will be distributed.
  • The first recipients will be health care workers as well as long-term care staff and residents.
  • Shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine are being made now.
  • After frontline healthcare workers, first responders — including police, fire, EMS, and other key individuals in vulnerable populations — will be allowed to take the vaccine.
  • VHHA cautions that it may still be several months before the general population can take the COVID-19 vaccine.
  • In the meantime, VHHA continues to recommend that individuals take personal responsibility for their own environment and situational awareness, including wearing a mask, limiting contact, and maintaining social distancing in public spaces.

At present, there is zero talk of a vaccination mandate either in Richmond or being recommended as a policy direction.

Given the scarcity of the vaccine at present, the real concern is prioritization among at-risk populations — including the elderly and minorities.

Thankfully, the large first wave seems as if it will be able to inoculate the vast majority of Virginia’s frontline doctors and health care staff, as well as make available the option of a vaccination to our law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency services personnel — key populations who are overtly exposed to COVID-19 in closed environment such as homes and businesses.

 

 

Featured News Video

Miyares Announces For AG; Chase Declines Bid For Republican Nod

Delegate Jason Miyares (R-Virginia Beach) — long considered a rising star among a new generation of conservatives — congratulated the Republican Party of Virginia for choosing a convention as its method of nomination today in a tight 39-35 vote.

The vote — contentious at times — signaled a reluctance to trust the Democratic-controlled Virginia Department of Elections the final say over the outcome of any primary contest, mostly in the wake of President Donald J. Trump’s legal disputes over the outcome of the 2020 presidential elections.

Miyares, who won in a historic first as a Cuban-American in 2015, was optimistic about the decision:

“I look forward to running in a party-run nomination for Attorney General next year. With this vote, the Republican Party of Virginia launches a 2021 cycle where Republicans are fired up to fight back against progressive one-party rule in Richmond. My campaign is focused on bringing conservative leadership back to Richmond for a safe and secure Commonwealth.
“Virginians of every background, not just Republicans, understand we need a check and balance in the Attorney General’s office.”

Meanwhile, State Senator Amanda Chase (I-Chesterfield) made good on threats to run as an independent should the Republican Party of Virginia choose not to run in a primary contest, stating that she would be running in an “independent primary contest” and begin gathering signatures in 2021.

As an independent candidate, Chase would be running in the general election and not in a primary contest — ostensibly against both the Democratic and Republican nominees — beginning with 10,000 signatures with a minimum of 400 in each congressional district.

At present, there are at least 15 different names being floated for statewide office in Virginia, with at least four notable candidates for the Republican nod for governor: former Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), State Senator Emmett Hanger (R-Mount Solon), Disruptor Capital CEO and longtime conservative leader Pete Snyder, and newcomer and former Carlyle Group CEO Glenn Youngkin all either announced or close to doing so.

Delegate Tim Hugo is considering a run for lieutenant governor in what will almost be guaranteed to be a crowded field.

Other candidates are rumored to be in the hunt for Virginia’s top law enforcement officer against Democrat Mark Herring, whose enfeebled response from this progressive wing to “defund the police” are complicated by his own blackface scandal on par with that of Governor Ralph Northam.

Republicans in Virginia are optimistic not only for their chances to retake the House of Delegates this year, but also about their opportunities to capture statewide office for the first time since 2009 after Virginia Democrats limped through the COVID-19 pandemic response.