Constituent Newsletter - April 5th, 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

Thanks to all who attended our PWC Vaccine Town Hall on Tuesday with Dr. Ansher and Dr. Avula! It was great to get information on PWC's vaccine response directly from the people leading it. You can click on the video above to watch.

Food Drive Reminder

This is the last week of our food drive! I am partnering up with former Del. David Ramadan to support the Dulles South Food Pantry. You can drop off food items Monday, April 12th at the Arcola Fire Department Annex, or you can give money here.

Vaccine Updates

The big news of this week is that starting April 18th, all Virginians over the age of 16 will qualify for a vaccine. This is nearly two weeks faster than the federal deadline of May 1st that President Biden put into place. Both Loudoun and Prince William counties are now scheduling Phase 1c workers for vaccines as of today, Monday April 5th. Please pre-register for a vaccine at vaccinate.virginia.gov as soon as possible if you haven't already. You can also search for a participating pharmacy at VaccineFinder.org -- while many pharmacies are making appointments directly from the statewide waiting list, some like CVS are continuing to schedule appointments online, and this tool will help you to find available appointments near you.

If you qualify for Phase 1b, have pre-registered with the state system or a health department, and have not yet been contacted to schedule a vaccine appointment, either go to vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA to verify and update your information. If your registration is incomplete, it may cause a delay in your appointment being scheduled.

As of today, nearly one-third of Virginians have had at least one vaccine dose, and nearly one-fifth of Virginians are fully vaccinated. There are so many reasons to be hopeful, and we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but unfortunately cases are beginning to rise once more, particularly in Northern Virginia. Whether you are vaccinated or not, please continue to mask up, wash your hands, and avoid large gatherings and crowds whenever possible. No vaccine is 100% effective in preventing all cases of COVID-19, and there is still the possibility that vaccinated individuals can spread the virus, so please be mindful out in public to protect yourself and those around you.

You can view the weekly vaccine dashboard for Loudoun County here, and you can view the vaccine dashboard for Prince William County here.