WAVY.com

Brian Reese

This Dec. 2, 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows vials of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. The nation is poised to get a third vaccine against COVID-19, but health officials are concerned that at first glance the Johnson & Johnson shot may not be seen as equal to other options from Pfizer and Moderna. (Johnson & Johnson via AP)

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia reported 1,300 new coronavirus cases and much fewer reported deaths, 31, on Thursday as its metrics continue to go down.

The Virginia Department of Health has been inputting old death certificates mostly related to the post-holiday surge in cases, resulting in some very large daily death reporting figures due to the backlog. Hopefully Thursday’s increase, the first day there wasn’t at least 100 new deaths reported in about two weeks, means those backlogged death certificates have been mostly added already.


Cases are still trending down, but are still relatively high at 1,489 per day statewide. COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending down overall, but are still relatively high as well at 1,265 patients.

Statewide numbers

The big news again this week is the introduction of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine into Virginia’s arsenal. The commonwealth is getting 69,000 doses this week to start, which will mostly go out to more rural places such as the Eastern Shore and Middlesex County because of its easier storage requirements and ability to vaccinate someone in one dose as opposed to two.

This addition of doses on top of the roughly 180,000 first doses per week on Pfizer and Moderna means Virginia will be able to start mass vaccination clinics starting on Friday, Dr. Danny Avula, Virginia’s head of vaccine response. Though you won’t just be able to walk up and get a vaccine.

Virginia is working down its list of pre-registered people in phase 1b, and will contact those people for their appointments.

Avula ensured that all three vaccines are safe and that residents should take whichever vaccine they’re eligible for, but said Virginians should be able to take their pick of the three vaccines come June.

For more from Avula, click here.

Local cases

Key local metrics

Test positivity 

For more information from the Virginia Department of Health, click here.