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As vaccine supply increases, demand in Fredericksburg area falls

The doctor said he knew he looked like an idiot, standing outside his office holding a handmade sign announcing a “COVID-19 vaccine.” But ever since Dr. Rosier Dedwylder’s practice in Dahlgren started administering the vaccine—50 shots every Monday from March 22 on—he and his staff made sure every dose landed in an arm. Then last week, someone canceled late in the day, and the staff scrambled to find a replacement. Dedwylder sees patients, not only from King George and neighboring Caroline and Westmoreland counties, but also those over the bridge in southern Maryland. The notion of one dose going to waste struck the medical team particularly hard, especially with the news coming out of India. People were dying outside hospitals because oxygen wasn’t available, and there were horrible photos of multiple victims of the virus being burned on funeral pyres. COVID-19 has claimed more than 3,000 victims there each day for the last week.

Three of five COVID-19 'variants of concern' found in Fredericksburg area

Local virus cases, hospitalizations continue climb

While new COVID-19 cases continue on an even keel statewide to the point the governor will relax some restrictions on social gatherings next month, the same trend is not true locally. The Rappahannock Area Health District, which includes Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford, saw its highest daily case number since Feb. 12 on Wednesday, when 170 people tested positive for the virus. New case counts were between 130 and 170 for three of the past four days. A week earlier, new daily cases ranged from 80 to 106. The area’s three hospitals were treating 64 patients with the virus on Friday, more than twice as many as a month ago. And the health district’s positivity rate, which measures the rate of positive tests among all those taken, continues to be higher than the state’s average. On Friday, it stood at 9.4 percent locally compared to 5.8 percent statewide.

Vaccine focus in Virginia shifts from pre-registering to simply making appointments

More COVID-19 vaccines available in Fredericksburg area as eligibility expands

Karen Duckett was glad her husband, Timothy, was vaccinated in March because he has pre-existing health conditions—including three bouts with cancer—and has continued his work in auto sales throughout the pandemic. She thought it would be a different story for herself. She’s 56, works from her Stafford County home and “wanted everyone else who needed the vaccine more than I did to be able to go first.” Duckett had registered through the state health department, then was surprised when a relative mentioned last week that Mary Washington Healthcare has vaccines available. Duckett registered on the MWHC site and, within the hour, scheduled an appointment for the next day.