Constituent Newsletter - March 29th, 2021

Dear Jack,

I hope you and your family are doing well during these tough times. We'll be sending out weekly Bulletins to update you on all the information you need in the 13th District. Please reach out to my office with any questions or concerns you may have regarding legislation or state policy. If you are having trouble with a state agency, such as the VEC or the DMV, we are happy to assist you and be your advocate. You can call our office at 571-367-9080, or email us at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Senator John J. Bell
Senator of Virginia
13th District

PWC Vaccine Town Hall

Join us tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 30th at 6pm, for a Prince William County Vaccine Town Hall! Virginia Vaccine Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula and Prince William Health District Director Dr. Alison Ansher will be available to answer your questions about getting vaccinated in PWC. This event is hosted by myself, as well as Del. Danica Roem, Del. Suhas Subramanyam, and Del. Dan Helmer. To register, please sign up at this link, and please fill out our Google Form in order to enter your questions in advance.

Food Drive Reminder

Between now and April 12th, I am partnering up with former Del. David Ramadan to support the Dulles South Food Pantry. You can drop off food items each Monday at the Arcola Fire Department Annex, or you can give money here.

Vaccine Updates

According to Dr. Danny Avula, Virginia's Vaccine Coordinator, we are well on track to finish all 1b vaccinations by mid-April, and open up vaccinations to all individuals 16 and older by May 1st. Some have contacted my office asking why Loudoun and Prince William are not getting larger shares of the vaccine compared to the rest of the state -- I'm glad to say that vaccine allocations are now beginning to shift in favor of our area in order to accommodate the increased demand for vaccines here. We are potentially looking at shipments that are 20% to 30% higher being made to high-demand areas like Northern Virginia, and our vaccination infrastructure is able to scale up to make sure those doses get into arms.

As of today, 28% of Virginians are partially vaccinated, and 15% of Virginians are fully vaccinated -- and those numbers are rising rapidly! But what does it mean to be fully vaccinated? If you are fully vaccinated (i.e., you received your final dose of the vaccine 14 days ago), precautions still need to be taken in your every day life. Even though vaccines are highly effective at preventing infection, serious illness, and death, there is no vaccine that will protect you 100% from catching or spreading COVID-19. You should still wear a mask, wash your hands, and implement social distancing in public, and avoid large gatherings when possible. However, there are a number of things that you will be able to do safely two weeks after your final shot:

You can safely gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
You can safely gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household without masks, unless they are at high risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
If you have contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you do not need to isolate or get tested unless you develop symptoms.