Holiday gatherings have Charlottesville’s COVID-19 cases spiking to their highest sustained levels since the pandemic began some nine months ago. Over the last two weeks, the city saw more than 600 new cases per 100,000 people. That number was below 200 at the start of December. The Blue Ridge Health District (formerly the Thomas Jefferson […]
Author Archives: Jessie Higgins
I'm Charlottesville Tomorrow's managing editor and health and safety reporter. If there’s something you think we should be investigating, please email me at jhiggins@cvilletomorrow.org! And you can follow all the work we do by subscribing to our free newsletter! Hablo español, y quiero mantener a la comunidad hispanohablante informada. Si tienes preguntas o información que debo saber, por favor, envíame un correo electrónico a jhiggins@cvilletomorrow.org.
Posted inHealth and safety
State clarifies who is eligible for next phases of COVID vaccine
The Virginia Department of Health has detailed which essential workers will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the coming phases of distribution. Following healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities (currently being vaccinated as part of Phase 1A); certain essential workers, people aged 75 and older; and people living in correctional facilities, […]
Posted inRace and equity
‘We have seen this before’: Charlottesville residents draw parallel between Aug. 12 and Capitol attack
This article was updated at 11:50 a.m. Jan. 11, 2021, to fix an error. Jalane Schmidt said Charlottesville activists saw the plans for the Unite the Right rally and warned officials, but those officials did not take the threats seriously. We regret the error. While the nation expressed shock and disbelief that rioters stormed the […]
Posted inHealth and safety
Health district began vaccinating frontline health workers Monday; details slowly emerge on what comes next
The Blue Ridge Health District gave its first COVID-19 vaccines to healthcare workers on Monday.The health district (formerly the Thomas Jefferson Health District) vaccinated its own staff last week. For now, it’s offering vaccines exclusively to emergency medical service responders, Region Ten residential facility staff and dialysis center staff. Officials plan to open up appointments to […]
Posted inHealth and safety
Details about the coming phases of COVID vaccination remain unclear even as the first phase is underway
While the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution marches ahead, no one quite knows yet how the next phases of distribution will work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released broad new distribution guidelines on Sunday, fleshing out the order in which Americans will get access to COVID vaccines. The new guidelines offer […]
Posted inGovernment and public institutions, Health and safety, Soundboard
Soundboard: A shot in the arm
A shot in the arm Credit: WTJU University of Virginia Medical Center employees have begun to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In our last episode of 2020, we look back on some of the big stories of year: the pandemic, the election, the racial justice protests this summer. Plus, we’ll talk a little bit about a […]
Posted inHealth and safety, Our neighborhoods
A sudden spike in Charlottesville’s homicides have police urging residents to ‘stay vigilant’
There have been four major shootings in Charlottesville since November — two of which are what police are calling “ambush-style” attacks, where the perpetrators fired dozens of bullets at someone. This sudden rash of shootings — three of which were homicides — is uncharacteristic for a city that’s averaged less than three homicides in a […]
Posted inHealth and safety
UVA Medical Center will begin vaccinating its staff against COVID-19 on Tuesday
The University of Virginia Medical Center expects to receive its first shipment of Pfizer’s newly approved COVID-19 vaccine around noon Tuesday. Medical Center officials say they will begin vaccinating healthcare workers immediately that afternoon. The vaccine received its emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday; the Centers for Disease Control and […]
Posted inGovernment and public institutions, Health and safety
Police chief calls for church leaders to ‘apologize or be terminated’ for ‘race baiting’
Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney called for the leaders of a local church who accused officers of racial profiling in October to “apologize or to be terminated,” saying their actions were “race baiting.” The call came during a news conference Thursday in which Brackney played portions of body-worn camera footage that she said refuted allegations […]
Posted inHealth and safety
A city on the top 20 list of American places with highest COVID cases is just 40 miles west of Charlottesville
Editor’s note: As of Tuesday afternoon, Staunton is no longer on the New York Times’ list of localities with the highest rates of COVID-19. It was in the top 20 on that list Monday and had been among the top 100 since at least Thursday.Just 40 miles west of Charlottesville, Staunton on Monday was among the […]
