Virginia hospitals have administered more than 234,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine
The latest in the statewide races and the top news stories for the day.
Virginia hospitals have administered more than 234,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in the time since the Commonwealth received the first shipment of doses in mid-December, says Julian Walker of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. That figure reflects doses administered by hospitals as of Tuesday, Jan. 19. According to Walker, Virginia hospitals and health systems account for the majority of vaccine doses administered to this point in the Commonwealth. Last week, VHHA announced more than 175,000 vaccine doses had been administered by hospitals during the first four weeks of the program. VHHA will continue to provide weekly vaccination updates, which will be available on theĀ Virginia Hospital COVID-19 Dashboard.
Bobbie Kilberg endorsed Kirk Cox for Governor Wednesday
Kilberg served as a senior advisor to Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
"I've worked with Kirk for years on issues important to Northern Virginia, to technology, and to the business community,ā said Kilberg. āHe has the experience, knowledge, and ability to lead that we need in our next Governor. He is a unifying, problem solver - both principled and pragmatic in his approach. I am proud to endorse his campaign."
Terry McAuliffe Releases New Video
The video features footage from Terry's campaign launch in December where he announced his plan to make a $2 billion annual investment in education.
Gubernatorial candidates respond to Bidenās inauguration:
Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) released the following statement on the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris.Ā
āThis is a historic day for our nation. Today, America turns away from the disastrous policies and chaos of the Trump Administration, and towards a brighter future with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris bring hope for Virginians: A plan to get Coronavirus under control, to address inequity, to tackle climate change, and to build our Commonwealth and our nation back better. As Virginiaās next governor, I look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration to revitalize every community of our Commonwealth and support Virginia families.
āI am proud to watch todayās inauguration not just through my own eyes, but through the eyes of my children. Kamala Harris sends a message to millions of women, particularly women of color, that we do belong at the highest levels of government. For my children and millions of others watching today, they know a glass ceiling has been shattered. Vice President Harris has blazed a path for women and girls across America to follow. The inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is a turning point for our nation, coming out of one of the most difficult periods in modern history. This is a moment for hope, for progress, and for a better future for all of our families.ā
Terry McAuliffe Congratulates President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Inauguration
Dorothy and I watched from the Capitol with pride today as our democracy was renewed and restored and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States of America. We congratulate President Biden and Vice President Harris on their inauguration, and look forward to the next four years of progress, healing, and rebuilding under their leadership. The past four years have put our country through unbelievably trying times. From an out-of-control pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of American lives to the recent attacks on our democracy, our nation is in desperate need of leadership that will unite us and help us build back better than we were before. Like so many Americans, I felt relief today at the peaceful transfer of power and the hope it brings for our future.
"President Biden spoke strongly today about the need to unify, to heal, and to strengthen our nation. He promised to lead us out of this pandemic and to fight for opportunity for every single American. I know that President Biden and Vice President Harris will act boldly to get this pandemic under control, build a post-COVID economy that works for all Americans, and bring our country together."
Jennifer Carroll Foy Statement on Historic Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris
āAmerica is looking forward to a brighter future. The Biden-Harris administration shows that meaningful change is possible, and now is the time to build back better, together, with working families top of mind. President Biden and Vice President Harris know that we must reclaim the soul of our country. They know that America only works when neighbors help neighbors, and you care for everyone the way you care for your family.Ā
āTodayās historic inauguration means so much to me personally, watching Kamala Harris make history as our first woman Vice President. And as she has said so many times, she wonāt be the last. As a Black woman, watching her walk to the podium, at the very same building built by slaves to assume the role of Vice President surfaces an indescribable joy inside me. I am so proud that the first Vice President my sons will recognize is Vice President Kamala Harris āĀ they wonāt know a world where the Vice President isnāt a woman and Black. Her inauguration today sends a message to girls and boys of color across this world that you can also break barriers.Ā As we celebrate, today is also a reminder of the work that lies before us. The issues we face wonāt go away after today and we must work together to address them. We canāt take our foot off the gas ā tackling economic inequality, racial inequality, and gender inequality, must remain a top priority.ā
Lieutenant Governor candidates:
Del. Hala Ayala Releases A Statement Congratulating President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Inauguration
āI am overjoyed to congratulate President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on their inauguration today. The past four years have tested our country more than we could have ever imagined but we have emerged on the other side and now enter a new era of healing for our nation.Ā Four years ago, I organized thousands of women from Northern Virginia to attend the Womenās March in Washington D.C. and stand against the hatred of Trumpism. Seeing millions of women speak up against division and bigotry inspired me to run for office. I ran for the Virginia House of Delegates because I wanted to create change in our Commonwealth. The hope of a brighter future is what has kept me motivated to serve our Commonwealth during even the darkest moments.Ā
āAs an Afro-Latina and daughter of an immigrant, to witness the first African American, first Asian American and first female Vice President sworn into office means more to me than words can express. Joy continues to fill my spirit and my heart and I know this to be the case for so many young women and men across the country watching todayās historic inauguration. I look forward to the next four years of healing, progress and unity, and I know that our country will prosper with this new leadership. Congratulations President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.ā
Elizabeth Guzman Congratulates President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala HarrisĀ
āJanuary 20, 2021 is the day we spent the last four years living for. It is a collective victory of our collective efforts. It was the product of a unified Democratic Party after a robust primary process. I commend President Bidenās campaign for inviting me to serve in a leadership role on his National Latino Leadership Council. Not all victors would have welcomed the leadership of their primary opponents to their teams, and not all presidential candidates would have recognized the power of the Latinx vote. President Biden has already proven to me that he is a unifier. Coalition-building around common values for the sake of progress is how we get things done. An America that sees and celebrates all of her people, including her most marginalized communities, is a stronger America. We cannot achieve great things alone. Our nation has just emerged from four of the darkest years in recent memory. This is a day to celebrate, but there is so much work ahead, so much broken to re-build. President Biden and Vice President Harris need the support of our Commonwealth and our country to again achieve great things, to help us recover from this pandemic and to begin to heal the wounds of the last four hundred years of racial injustice on our shores. I have confidence in their competence and their purity of heart. Not everyone will agree with everything they do, but we now have an administration who believes in science, and as President Biden mentioned in his inaugural address, not all disagreements need to lead to disunion or result in total war. It is unfortunate that I mean that in the literal sense. We now have a president who will condemn rather than incite violent acts.
āI congratulate both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman, Black person, and Asian-American to ever serve in this role. Representation matters, and millions of young women and girls, including my own daughters, can now see themselves when they look at her.Ā A CNN analysis notedĀ that Vice President Harris āwill change what power looks like and directly influence whom it serves. I will do everything in my power to help President Biden and Vice-President Harris succeed in serving the neglected and oppressed. I came to America more than two decades ago because I believed in her promise, because I knew this was the land of opportunity that I never would have had in Peru. And on this day, I have never been more proud to be an American, as I see a brighter future for all working families and our children.ā
Top Stories:
Commentary: Reduce the number of ballot signatures required while we battle a pandemic - Virginia Scope
by Josh Stanfield
The novel coronavirus, as it infiltrates our communities with baffling speed,Ā increasing intensity, and documented lethality, has turned nightmares into reality. Virginians already struggling to pay the bills amongst obscene wealth and income inequality find themselves jobless, without healthcare, facing eviction, and even facing death.
One political nightmare affects hundreds of thousands of Virginians, but nobodyās talking about it. In order for statewide candidates to qualify for the primary ballot,Ā Virginia lawĀ requires them to get 10,000 in-person petition signatures from registered Virginia voters and 400 legitimate in-person signatures from each of the Commonwealthās eleven congressional districts.
Private prison, gambling and marijuana businesses showered General Assembly with campaign cash before session - Virginia Mercury
by Graham Moomaw and Ned Oliver
The company that operates Virginiaās only private prison doled out campaign contributions to 29 Virginia lawmakers ahead of a push to pass legislation banishing the for-profit corrections industry from the state, according to campaign finance records compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. And when the bill came before a Senate panel last week for its first hearing,Ā it died a quick and sudden death, with some of the legislators who received the donations speaking most forcefully against it.
Hundreds of Richmond-area real estate and credit union employees were set to be vaccinated this weekend. That changed after we asked why. - Richmond Times-Dispatch
by Sabrina Moreno
Employers told nearly 800 Realtors and credit union workers in the Richmond area they could sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine that federal and state guidance said theyāre ineligible to receive. More than 400 were scheduled for a vaccination event Sunday while thousands of health care workers, teachers and long-term care residents continue to wait for doses that are in short supply.
Hours after the Richmond Times-Dispatch asked why, it was canceled.
Biden Inaugurated as the 46th President Amid a Cascade of Crises - New York Times
by Peter Baker
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in on Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States, assuming leadership of a country ravaged by disease, dislocation and division with a call to āend this uncivil warā after four tumultuous years that tore at the fabric of American society. Mr. Biden sought to immediately turn the corner on Donald J. Trumpās polarizing presidency, inviting Republicans to join him in confronting the nationās dire economic, social and health crises even as he began dismantling his predecessorās legacy with orders to halt construction of his border wall, lift his travel ban andĀ rejoin the Paris climate agreement.
As Virginia struggles to boost vaccination rates, state officials face calls for more coordination - Virginia Mercury
by Kate Masters
The Lord Fairfax Health District vaccinated more than 2,000 people last week at two walk-up clinics in Clarke County. The first, on Monday, was open to anyone 75 and older. The second, on Friday, covered anyone 65 and up ā as well as most of the countyās educators. In the neighboring Blue Ridge Health District, officials are still working to finish immunizing the health care providers prioritized in the first phase of Virginiaās COVID-19 vaccine campaign.Ā
Advocates Seek to Ban Guns at Virginia Polling Locations - VPM News
by Ben Paviour
Virginia voters will no longer be able to carry firearms into polling locations under legislation advancing in the General Assembly. Republicans and gun rights activists argueĀ the billĀ is unnecessary given the commonwealthāsĀ existing laws prohibiting voter intimidation. And theyāve questioned how gun owners with concealed carry permits could scare other people if their weapon was out of sight.