Personic Health Care Rapid Testing in Loudoun VA

01/17/2022

10/07/2021

Loudoun County employees required to get vaccinated or COVID-19 tested weekly

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (WDVM) — The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is requiring county employees to now get vaccinated or COVID-19 tested weekly.

The board voted on the measure with an 8 to 1 vote on Wednesday during the board’s business meeting. Constitutional officers will have the option to subject their employees to the proposed policy, according to the motion.

The proposed policy will include medical and religious exemptions.

10/06/2021

Ha Noi, 14 September 2021 – Viet Nam received today 672,000 doses of Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Government of France and 812,060 doses of Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Government of Italy, both through the COVAX Facility.

“With this donation, France is demonstrating its solidarity with Viet Nam through these difficult times: we stand together with the people of Viet Nam, as the country is facing a severe epidemic wave, by supporting vaccination efforts launched by the authorities” said Ambassador of France, Nicolas Warnery. "This support is in line with the longstanding and successful cooperation between France and Viet Nam in the medical field”.

Ambassador Nicolas Warnery added that "vaccination is the only way out of this crisis. That is why France is committed to share 60 million doses in 2021, in addition to its financial contributions to the COVAX program, in order to accelerate vaccination efforts worldwide. More broadly, France has been a major supporter to the ACT-A initiative which provides universal access to tests and treatments to fight COVID 19”.

“In the spirit of the strategic partnership and sincere friendship that links Italy and Viet Nam”, said Ambassador of Italy, Antonio Alessandro, “Italy stands close to the Vietnamese Government and people in the fight against Covid-19”.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic”, he added, “Italy has been among the first countries to support the importance of equal and universal access to vaccines, treatments and tests for COVID-19, based on a principle of international solidarity according to which no one will be safe until everyone is safe. For these reasons, Italy supported the creation of ACT-Accelerator and the Global COVAX Facility, of which is one of its largest financial donors. Furthermore, on the occasion of the Global Health Summit promoted by the Italian G20 Presidency, Italy committed to donate 15 million doses to low and middle income countries, starting from those most in need, including Vietnam”.

French and Italian contributions add to the (European Union and its Member States) support to help Viet Nam fight the pandemic: is the 2nd biggest donor to COVAX, with USD 2,8 billion. An EU budget support grant of EUR 19 million was transferred in 2020 to the State Treasury of Viet Nam to provide additional fiscal space to implement relief policies. Many other EU and bilateral programs, including from Italy and France, are dedicated to support Public Health and Medical Research & Innovation in Viet Nam.

10/05/2021

In the early days of the COVID pandemic, Loudoun’s Makersmiths organization made headlines by cranking out high-quality protective equipment for first responders. Now, with COVID restrictions lifted and enthusiasm for DIY surging, Makersmiths is experiencing a boom in interest and working to build membership in its collaborative workshops.

And the benefits go way beyond getting to use super cool tools most of us don’t have in our basements. It’s also about forging connections.

“Community is a big part of what we do,” said Scott Newman, the organization’s membership chairman and an incoming board member. “We’re going to continue on our mission to serve the community and to grow the technical arts.”

Makersmiths is an independent, membership-based nonprofit with locations in downtown Leesburg and Purcellville. The Leesburg location, located in a historic building on Royal Street, is chock full of hobbyist-level tools and high-tech equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) printers, along with wood and metal shops. The organization is turning the basement at the Leesburg location into a cosplay space in response to member demand, with sewing machines, a green screen, a ventilated painting area and possibly a vacuum-former to help cosplayers young and old create new looks.

09/22/2021

The U.S. will ease travel restrictions for international visitors who are vaccinated against Covid-19 in November, including those from the U.K. and EU, the White House said Monday.

Noncitizens visiting the United States will have to show proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test taken within three days of departure, said Jeff Zients, who is leading the nation’s Covid response efforts for the White House.

The changes will take effect in early November, which the airline industry expects will spur holiday bookings.

“They must show proof of vaccination prior to boarding a U.S.-bound airplane,” Zients said during a press briefing.

Airlines and other travel industry groups have clamored for the U.S. to lift the restrictions for months. The Trump administration had first issued the rules, which now apply to more than 30 countries, in March 2020. President Joe Biden upheld those rules in January, shortly after taking office.

The Biden administration is also tightening rules for unvaccinated U.S. citizens returning home. They will need to test one day before departure and test again after returning.

European and British officials have lifted entry bans for U.S. and other visitors since vaccines became widely available this spring, but the Biden administration hadn’t reciprocated.

09/20/2021

The Fairfax Health District has hit a key milestone in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, even as concerns about the spreading Delta variant of the novel coronavirus keep the area on edge.

According to the Fairfax County Health Department’s vaccine data dashboard, 70% of district residents 18 and older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning they have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Overall, 692,049 Fairfax Health District residents — 58.5% of the total population — are fully vaccinated. The district includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church as well as Fairfax County.

765,085 residents — 64.6% of the populace — have gotten at least one vaccine dose, including 76.8% of all adults.

Fairfax continues to see a higher vaccination rate than the state as a whole, which has fully vaccinated 65.7% of adults and 54.6% of its total population.

09/08/2021

To encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., posted a comparison between the cost of a hospital stay and the vaccine.

"The average hospital stay for a case of COVID-19 costs about $17,064. The vaccine is free," said Jayapal in her Aug. 30

It’s true that all three COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. are free to recipients. We wanted to know if Jayapal was correct about the average cost for a hospital stay for COVID-19 patients.

Health policy and industry experts said the $17,064 figure sounds about right, based on available data. But they also noted that figuring out an "average" cost for a hospital stay is tricky due to varying factors among patients.

The cost of COVID-19 care can vary widely depending on someone’s age, location, length of stay at the hospital, the hospital where they receive care, severity of illness and comorbidities. Whether someone has no insurance, commercial health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare also plays a role.

"Pinning down an average is hard because for everyone who ended up on a ventilator for weeks, costing millions, there are also people who are in and out of (the) hospital in a day or two once they stabilize," said Niall Brennan, president and CEO of the Health Care Cost Institute, a nonprofit that compiles claims data and offers research on health care costs and utilization.

08/18/2021

COVID-19 Wales sees zero weekly deaths from coronavirus for first time since pandemic began

None of the 573 deaths registered in Wales in the week ending 18 June mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate.

Wales has reported a week with zero deaths from COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic began, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

08/16/2021

According to latest data from England, protection against symptomatic infection after two doses is 88% for Pfizer/BioNTech and 67% for AstraZeneca/Oxford. Despite an apparent drop in protecting against infections, vaccine effectiveness against severe COVID-19 remains very high (around 90%).

A cohort study in the US with 3975 health care and frontline workers detected SARS-CoV-2 infection in 204 participants (5%), of whom 5 were fully vaccinated, 11 partially vaccinated, and 156 were unvaccinated. Viral loads were 40% lower in vaccinated as compared to unvaccinated participants. In addition, the risk of febrile symptoms was 58% lower and the duration of illness was shorter.

A cluster of infections by the Gamma (P.1) variant among mine workers in French Guiana shows that half of the affected persons had been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. However, all breakthrough infections were asymptomatic or mild.

Vaccination prevented around 75% of hospitalizations in England's Delta wave, as determined by modelling by the FT. Without vaccines, hospitalizations would already be above the winter peak.

08/15/2021

New infections drop below 15,000 for first time since March 2020; vaccinated Americans get more travel freedom

The seven-day average of new, daily coronavirus cases dropped to 13,277, the first time it has fallen below 15,000 since the first weeks of the pandemic in March of 2020, top U.S. health officials said Tuesday.

The daily average has dropped to one-third the average number of cases seen just three weeks ago. Five months ago the U.S. was seeing 15,000 cases every 90 minutes.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said barely more than 10,000 new cases were reported Monday. She noted that deaths and hospitalizations related to COVID-19 also have continued their precipitous decline.

Walensky credited the 300 million-plus vaccination shots already administered across the nation for the encouraging numbers.

"It gives me so much hope," she said. "Each week there are more and more data to demonstrate the impact vaccination has on preventing this disease and moving us out of this pandemic."

08/14/2021

Nothing goes as expected. That’s been the theme for many of the high school graduates who belong to the Class of 2020.

Now college freshmen, they have arrived on campuses where dorm life is constricted, meals are taken out of the dining hall, and many classes are held via Zoom or with a mix of in-person and remote sessions.

But for 18-year-old Anna Kasun, a graduate of Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, Virginia, college life is conducted from home.

Kasun, a freshman at Columbia University in New York City, found out weeks before planning her move that classes would be held remotely. It was a disappointment, and not just for her. She said her mother felt badly, but they both came around to see “this time is really a gift.”

08/12/2021

Unvaccinated hospitalized patients say they regret not getting the shot

A year and a half into the pandemic, low vaccination rates and the rise of the delta variant threaten to cripple some hospital systems.

To describe Dr. Ryan Dare as frustrated would be a gross understatement.

Dare and his colleagues at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock are dealing with a surge in extremely ill Covid-19 patients — one that is "nearly 100 percent preventable."

That's because virtually all of their patients are unvaccinated. And now they wish they had gotten the shots when they had the chance.

"It is heart-wrenching to see unvaccinated individuals come into the hospital with regret," said Dare, an infectious diseases physician. They are patients who, "if they could do it all over again, would have had the vaccine in a second."

Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, with less than 35 percent of adults having been fully vaccinated. Now, the state's low vaccine uptake has crashed headlong into the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, leaving some hospital systems once again teetering on the brink of collapse more than a year into the pandemic.

08/11/2021

PENNSYLVANIA — All employees in state healthcare facilities and certain long-term homes must get vaccinated, or submit to weekly testing, Pennsylvania officials announced on Tuesday.

Speaking amid a downpour of rain at the Dauphin County Health Center, Gov. Tom Wolf said the new mandate was needed given the current vaccination rate and the surging virus numbers statewide.

"As well as we're doing, it's not good enough," Gov. Wolf said, pointing to recent statistics. "With the vaccine, we have the ability to do even better. This is not where we wanna be."

Employees in these state-run facilities must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 7, according to the new guidance. Starting Sept. 7, all new hires must be vaccinated before starting employment.

Furthermore, starting Oct. 1, the state will be incentivizing the vaccine by offering employees a day off once they receive it.

08/06/2021

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Most of Virginia’s state workers will have to be vaccinated or agree to regular COVID-19 testing, under a new requirement Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday.

The order will take effect Sept. 1 and will apply to more than 120,000 executive branch employees, the governor’s office said in a news release.

“The three vaccines are safe, effective, free, and widely available, and I strongly urge every eligible Virginian to get their shot. The time for waiting is over,” Northam, the nation's only doctor-governor, said in a statement.

The Democratic governor's directive comes as the delta variant has driven a national surge in COVID-19 cases, most of which involve unvaccinated people. President Joe Biden and a growing number of state and local governments and major employers are taking an increasingly hard line against vaccine holdouts.

Northam issued his order a day after Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced a decision to require workers in the capital city to get the vaccine or face disciplinary action. Virginia joins other states including California, New York and North Carolina, that have already taken similar measures.

Northam's order will require unvaccinated workers to show proof of negative tests weekly.

It will cover about 122,000 workers at executive branch agencies such as the Virginia Employment Commission, Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Transportation, and some staff at public colleges and universities. It applies to part-time and contract workers as well, said Northam's spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky.

08/05/2021

Easterseals UCP, in partnership with Trillium Health Resources, is excited to announce the opening of our inclusive camp that serves campers with special needs and their siblings.

The opening of this meaningful community summer program is an expansion of our EMPOWER afterschool and summer programs at the Summer Moore Center in Greenville, NC.

The Summer Moore Center, formerly the Summer Moore Child Development Center, has been directly connected to the community since it opened in 1992. The original space was renovated to ensure it was accessible and could serve children and families with all abilities during summer camp and afterschool care.

Beginning June 14, 2021 and running each weekday through August, our EMPOWER summer camp will serve children preschool age 3 through 5th grade with opportunity to expand our ages in the future. Our camp will offer full days of fun activities that include trips to the local splash park, taking nature hikes, learning yoga, going bowling, creating art, enjoying music and movement with the East Carolina School of Music, rhythmic drumming and enjoying playground time – all supervised in a fun and safe environment for each of our campers! Our standard staff to camper ratio is 1:3 and we can also provide a 1:1 ratio when needed.

08/03/2021

When Italy battled a severe outbreak of Coronavirus last march, one small silver lining was reported in Venice. Locals noticed how clear the water appears perhaps due to the lack of motor boats and general crows and pollution. These clearer waters have even led to wildlife appearing in the canals with swans, fish and more spotted in recent days.

07/28/2021

Self-scheduling for COVID-19 vaccine now available online
Loudoun residents 16 and over can now directly schedule appointments online to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the Dulles Town Center in Sterling, according to a Thursday press release by the Loudoun County Health Department.

Vaccine recipients are no longer required to pre-register before scheduling an appointment, officials said.

"We have exhausted the waitlist for those who have pre-registered in Loudoun County and this is an important step in streamlining vaccination and lowering barriers to appointments," Loudoun Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend said in a prepared statement.

The types of vaccines available will be listed during the scheduling process. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available at the Sterling site starting May 1.

Residents under 18 are required to schedule an appointment in which the Pfizer vaccine is offered.

Heath Department officials encourage unvaccinated residents to schedule an appointment at earliest convenience by visiting loudoun.gov/covid19vaccine.

Those who have pre-registered but have not received an invitation to schedule an appointment are asked to check their email spam folder or go online to schedule an appointment immediately.
More information about the county's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is available at loudoun.gov/coronavirus.

07/22/2021

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County's coronavirus vaccine clinic at Sterling's Dulles Town Center now accepts walk-ins, according to the Loudoun County Health Department. The clinic is also changing its hours of operation in the coming weeks.

The vaccine clinic will only be open for three days each week, beginning on June 14. In a news release, the Loudoun County Health Department said the schedules are changing to accommodate walk-in services and demand for service to ensure the clinic is operating at maximum efficiency while serving the community.

Dr. David Goodfriend is Loudoun County's health director. Loudoun residents have done an amazing job getting their vaccines, more than 72 percent of the adult population has received at least one dose of vaccine so far, he said. I encourage anyone who has not yet received a vaccine to get one as soon as possible to protect your family and help our community get back to normal as soon as possible.

07/13/2021

Here's Where Montgomery County Stands On Vaccination Rate
NORRISTOWN, PA — In a very short time, vaccines have gone from scarce to abundant in Montgomery County and across Pennsylvania.

After months of hundreds of thousands of residents waiting in line, many of them among the area's most vulnerable, the county's fortunes changed almost overnight. The state announced at the end of March that huge weekly shipments of Johnson & Johnson vaccine would be shipped directly to the suburban Philadelphia counties, instead of concentrated in state-run, regional mass vaccine clinics.

The county swiftly completed it's 1A group vaccinations. Weeks later, despite the J&J pause, Montgomery County continued operating most of its clinics, using an existing stockpile of Pfizer vaccine.

Now that J&J has resumed, the county is able to get a vaccine to anyone who wants it, although vaccine hesitancy has been pointed to by officials as the next great hurdle that must be surmounted to end the pandemic.

As of Wednesday, the county has fully vaccinated 202,411 residents, and partially vaccinated 230,301.

That means that 32 percent of the county has been fully vaccinated, and 41 percent of the population 18 and over has been fully vaccinated, according to a New York Times study.

That second number, the percentage of adults in the county fully vaccinated, marks a 10 point increase over just a few weeks ago, when it stood at 31 percent on April 19.

07/12/2021

Unvaccinated hospitalized patients say they regret not getting the shot
A year and a half into the pandemic, low vaccination rates and the rise of the delta variant threaten to cripple some hospital systems.

To describe Dr. Ryan Dare as frustrated would be a gross understatement.

Dare and his colleagues at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock are dealing with a surge in extremely ill Covid-19 patients — one that is "nearly 100 percent preventable."

That's because virtually all of their patients are unvaccinated. And now they wish they had gotten the shots when they had the chance.

"It is heart-wrenching to see unvaccinated individuals come into the hospital with regret," said Dare, an infectious diseases physician. They are patients who, "if they could do it all over again, would have had the vaccine in a second."

Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, with less than 35 percent of adults having been fully vaccinated. Now, the state's low vaccine uptake has crashed headlong into the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, leaving some hospital systems once again teetering on the brink of collapse more than a year into the pandemic.

07/08/2021

While many sports-related activities were put on hold during the pandemic, golf rounds could be played in a safe, socially-distanced way and many of Loudoun’s golf courses have seen their busiest year ever as a result.

At Belmont Country Club in Ashburn, Head Golf Professional Adam Hibbs said the number of rounds played in 2020 nearly doubled compared to 2019.

“Last March and April were crazy busy with golfers who were able to go outside and socially distance,” Hibbs said.

He explained that most club members were working from home and were able to spend more time on the golf course.

“There were a lot of members who we would normally only see about five times a year who were out every day,” Hibbs said.

At River Creek Country Club in Leesburg, director of instruction John Ronis said he saw a large uptick in rounds of golf played — probably a 30 percent increase.

07/07/2021

One of the most vulnerable groups who are at increased risk of experiencing the most severe symptoms of the Coronavirus are those over the age of 70.

But there have been some encouraging and heartwarming stories of elderly people making recoveries after being hospitalized with Covid-19.

In Oregon, USA, WW2 veteran William Lapschie celebrated his 104th birthday after making a recovery from Coronavirus.

In Genoa, Italy a 102-year-old woman survived the illness, according to reports. In Iran, a 103-year-old woman has also reportedly made a recovery after spending a week in hospital.

06/30/2021

Rockville, Maryland-based Silver Diner will open its first Loudoun County restaurant on June 30. The new Ashburn, Virginia, location will be the diner chain’s 19th in the D.C. region.

The Ashburn Silver Diner is at the Commonwealth Center, at the intersection of Loudoun County Parkway and Russell Branch Parkway, near One Loudoun.

The restaurant will have a full bar and an outside patio.

It is the fourth new Silver Diner to open in the past two years, including one in Alexandria’s West End that opened last year during the height of the pandemic.

Silver Diner’s first restaurant in D.C., a two-level restaurant with a second level bar called Bar Silver, is expected to open in spring 2022 next to Nationals Park. Silver Diner has one of its more upscale Silver American Brasserie restaurants in Northwest D.C.’s Cathedral Heights.

As part of the Ashburn opening, for every $10 donation made online to Real Food for Kids, customers will get a certificate for $10 off their next visit to any Silver Diner.

Real Food for Kids was founded by Fairfax County parents as a nonprofit that advocates for healthy changes to school lunch programs.

06/28/2021

The Prince William County School Board is set to vote Wednesday on a plan that would provide financial thanks to Virginia teachers and staff in a one-time bonus — up to $1,600 each — at the end of the pandemic-riddled academic year.

However, in neighboring Loudoun County, most Loudoun County school employees received a challenge coin and an appreciative note of thanks from Superintendent Scott Ziegler.

According to an agenda item, the Prince William County Board would approve the use of $20,207,427 in funds available at the end of the fiscal year to pay for the across-the-board bonus, “for the purpose of recognizing the extraordinary contributions and sacrifices made by all Prince William County Public Schools employees during the COVID pandemic.”

Under the plan, active full-time employees would receive $1,600. Part-time employees would receive a prorated amount, as would employees who started working for the school system midway through the school year, with a minimum of $500.

Active substitutes in Prince William, as well as temporary and retired employees who earned $1,000 during the school year, would receive $500.