COVID-19 in Virginia: LIVE updates for Thursday, April 15

RICHMOND, Va. -- In an effort to provide accurate, easy-to-read information on the on-going COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on our community, WTVR.com will update this post with the day's local coronavirus headlines and statistics.

COVID-19 IN VIRGINIA (Scroll to bottom for U.S. stats)

Positive COVID-19 Cases Since Start of Pandemic: 641,626 (+1,415 from Wednesday)
People Hospitalized Since Start of Pandemic: 27,493 (+96 from Wednesday)
COVID-19-Linked Deaths Since Start of Pandemic: 10,529 (+23 from Wednesday)

Total Tests: 8,829,721 (+30,539 from Wednesday)
All Health Districts Current 7-Day Positivity Rate Total: 6.7% (Up from 6.6% Wednesday)

People Vaccinated with at least One Dose: 3,233,915 (+106,655 from Wednesday)
People Fully Vaccinated: 1,933,945 (+37,892 from Wednesday)
% of Population Fully Vaccinated: 22.7% (Up from 22.2% on Wednesday)

Click here for complete city/county-by-county breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Virginia

NOTE: This data is provided from the Virginia Department of Healthdaily at 10 a.m. Officials said their cutoff for data is 5 p.m. the previous day. So your local health department may have issued an alert about a case before it is added to the statewide tally released the following day. Get the latest charts and updated numbers from VDH here.

VACCINATE VIRGINIA: Preregister for the COVID-19 vaccine on the Vaccinate Virginia websiteor call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-275-8343)

COVID-19 LOCAL HEADLINES

Check your email: Thousands in Phase 2 can set-up COVID-19 vaccination appointments
The Richmond and Henrico Health District, the Chesterfield Health District and the Chickahominy Health District announced Friday they will start scheduling Phase 2 eligible people for their COVID-19 vaccine appointments for as soon as next week. That means vaccines will be open to people in metro-Richmond 16 and over who want one.
Read more.

Can COVID-19 vaccine impact your menstrual cycle?
Hundreds of women have taken to social media to document their experience with a change in their menstrual cycle following their COVID vaccine.
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Health experts say blood clots caused by J&J vaccine 'must be treated differently'
The CDC is investigating the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine's side effects in six Americans, one of whom, is a Virginia woman who has died. Health leaders said the kind of blood clots potentially caused by the J&J shot must be treated differently than normal blood clots.
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How Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause impacts Virginia's vaccination effort
The leader of Virginia's COVID-19 vaccination effort said the state was "closely monitoring" the situation involving Johnson & Johnson vaccinations. The U.S. government on Tuesday recommended a “pause” in the administration of the vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.
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FDA, CDC recommend a pause in use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine "out of an abundance of caution."
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Decrease in J&J doses could delay your appointment to get vaccinated in Virginia
Virginia will receive a tenth of the single-shot doses it received last week after 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had to be scrapped because of a production mix-up last month, according to Virginia's COVID-19 vaccine coordinator.
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Nearly 70 additional COVID-19 patients discharged in Virginia; hospitalizations tick down
Nearly 70 additional COVID-19 patients have been discharged from Virginia hospitals in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association.
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Surge of doses helps Chesterfield near 70% of vaccinations goal
Chesterfield County has reached two-thirds of its goal to vaccinate 75% of their population against the coronavirus. The county has set a community vaccination goal of 190,000 residents. As of Friday, approximately 67.82% or about 129,000 people have received their vaccination.
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COVID-19 vaccines will soon be administered at Short Pump Town Center
A Central Virginia entrepreneur who owns a popular delivery company planned to expand to offer vaccinations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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Crater Health District begins Phase 1c COVID-19 vaccinations
Officials with the Crater Health District announced they had started vaccinating Phase 1c eligible people for their COVID-19 vaccine appointments Thursday.
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VDH set to launch pilot program to test for COVID at schools
As more and more school systems return to in-person learning, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is set to launch a pilot program to test for COVID-19 among students and staff.
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Virginia children could be vaccinated for COVID as early as this fall
Health experts in Virginia believe that children as young as 12 years old may be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by the fall if studies continue upward.
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New mammogram guidelines issued for women who get vaccinated
Studies have shown women are likely to receive a false positive in mammogram readings after getting vaccinated for COVID-19 due to swollen lymph nodes.
Read more.

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expanded in Virginia; all 16+ will qualify by April 18
Everyone in Virginia age 16 and older will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine beginning Sunday, April 18, which is nearly two weeks ahead of President Joe Biden's May 1 nationwide goal to open vaccinations to every adult who wants one.
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How Virginia is working to make COVID-19 vaccine available to all adults by mid-April
Virginia vaccine czar Dr. Danny Avula said he was working to make sure all Virginia health districts were into Phase 2 vaccinations on April 18.
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More transmissible U.K. variant is 'probably widely spread throughout the state'
A VCU Infectious Disease Epidemiologist predicts the more transmissible U.K. variant known as B117, will dominate the country by the end of the month and is already widely spread throughout Virginia.
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Scientists track COVID-19 variants in Virginia
Virginia's state laboratory said it will be increasing its capacity to track variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 as the variants continue to appear and spread around the world -- including here in Virginia.
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Hanover citizens that are 70+ no longer need appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine
If you're 70 or older and live in the Chickahominy Health District, you can now get a COVID-19 vaccine without an appointment.
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Henrico tests drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic
Health officials completed their first drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic for people with disabilities and their caregivers Saturday in Henrico County.
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Meet the heroes going door-to-door to vaccinate the most vulnerable
Lt. David Bigelow leads three firefighters and a peer-support specialist through the county’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) unit with Chesterfield Fire & EMS' Bed Bound Program. The team brings medical support and services to those who are unable to leave their homes.
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23-year-old tests positive for COVID after receiving vaccine
Health experts say the vaccine is the strongest defense against Coronavirus, but -- as one vaccinated woman learned the hard way -- it doesn't mean people should stop taking safety precautions.
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Some Virginia pharmacies will start vaccinating more people
Pharmacies in Virginia that are administering the coronavirus vaccine through a partnership with the federal government will begin offering doses to more people in the state.
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Can your boss mandate you get a COVID vaccine?
As more and more people are able to sign-up for the COVID-19 vaccine, some have asked the CBS 6 Problem Solvers whether their employer can mandate them to get a shot.
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Virginia to ease COVID-19 restrictions: Crowd sizes at entertainment venues, sporting events to increase
Some of Virginia's COVID-19 restrictions will be eased starting April 1, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced Tuesday.
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How you can get a free ride to your vaccination appointment
In an effort to offer a solution, health officials teamed up with GRTC to make sure everyone has a ride to get vaccinated.
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CDC now recommends K-12 students keep 3 feet of distance in class, if there’s masking
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending that, with universal masking, students at K-12 schools should maintain a distance of at least 3 feet in classroom settings, instead of the previous 6 feet recommended.
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Thousands get COVID-19 vaccine at new Virginia State mass clinic
Thousands of people who live in the Chesterfield and Crater Health Districts got vaccinated Wednesday at a new mass vaccination site inside Virginia State University's multi-purpose center.
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Kroger mistakenly used empty syringes instead of COVID-19 vaccine at Midlothian store
Kroger is now clarifying a COVID-19 vaccine mishap that happened at one of its Central Virginia clinics where people were mistakenly injected with empty syringes.
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First Virginia child under 10 dies from COVID-19
The first child under the age of 10 in Virginia has died from complications from COVID-19, state health officials announced Thursday afternoon.
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What's safe to do after getting the COVID vaccine?
As COVID-19 cases fall and the number of people fully vaccinated rises, many wonder when the state and county will begin to roll back restrictions placed during the pandemic.Read more.

Henrico-based researchers launch COVID-19 treatment study
Henrico Clinical Research Partners are studying safe treatments for COVID-19, and they're looking for participants for their research study.
Read more.

Which vaccine is best? Experts say it's not fair to compare J&J vaccine data to Pfizer, Moderna
As the U.S. begins distributing a third vaccine against COVID-19, health officials are girding for questions about which one is best.
Read more.

How you can get a COVID-19 vaccine at Walgreens
Walgreens Pharmacy said that it will begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine at some of its stores in Virginia starting Feb. 24. Registration can be made either online or by calling 1-800-Walgreens.
Read more.

US extends restrictions on non-essential travel to Canada and Mexico
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday that it was extending restrictions on non-essential to Canada and Mexico amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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VCU student creates self-cleaning mask that can kill COVID-19
"To have a mask that cleans itself sort of adds that kind of peace of mind," VCU student McKenzie Piper said.
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More than half of Virginia's prison population gets COVID-19 vaccination
The Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) announced more than 50 percent of those people inside Virginia's prisons have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Read more.

UVA researchers developing nasal COVID-19 vaccine
“There's no need for needles. We're working on a device that would actually spray it into your nose, similar to like an asthma inhaler where you inhale through your mouth.”
Read more.

CDC: People who have been fully vaccinated can skip COVID-19 quarantines if experiencing no symptoms
Anyone who has received a full dose of a COVID-19 vaccine does not need to follow the standard 14-day quarantine if they’re within three months of their vaccination and do not develop symptoms of the virus, according to the CDC.
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CDC study: 2 masks and tighter fit could reduce COVID-19 exposure by up to 96%
Masks and facial coverings are required in most settings to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The CDC released new data Wednesday on how to improve mask fit that reduces a person’s exposure to the virus by as much as 96%.
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Here's what we know about COVID-19 vaccine at locally-owned pharmacies
The Virginia Department of Health is working on a state pharmacy program that will involve 100 pharmacies across the state that will receive COVID-19 vaccines, but that partnership has not been activated yet.
Read more.

Why Virginia lags in reporting race, ethnicity data for COVID-19 vaccinations
Health officials explain why Virginia lags in reporting race and ethnicity data related to the coronavirus vaccine, and how it affects the measuring of health equity.
Read more.

Why advocates say upping staff at nursing homes could save lives
During a COVID-19 outbreak at Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, officials said they had a staffing shortage that could've contributed to lives lost.
Read more.

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COMPLETE COVERAGE: COVID-19 HEADLINES (App users, click here for a complete list.)

LATEST COVID-19 U.S. AND WORLDWIDE STATS