As COVID-19 cases drop, Fairfax County hits 80 percent vaccination rate among adults

With a second week of consistently declining cases, Fairfax County’s current, omicron variant-fueled Covid wave has receded closer to the levels seen last winter.

The Fairfax Health District, including the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, reported 607 new cases today (Monday). With 845 cases added yesterday (Sunday), it’s the first time since Dec. 20 and 21 that there have been fewer than 1,000 new cases on consecutive days.

The county is now averaging 1,150 cases per day for the past week — less than half the weekly average of 2,520 cases recorded on Jan. 13, when the pandemic’s latest surge appears to have peaked.

Last winter, the seven-day average peaked at 697 cases on Jan. 17, 2021.

The omicron surge’s decline can also be seen in the district’s testing positivity rate, which has dropped from 34.1% on Jan. 10 to 23.1%, as of last Thursday (Jan. 20). The seven-day average for hospitalizations has gone from 5.7 on Jan. 15 to 3.1 today, when four new hospitalizations were reported.

In total, the Fairfax Health District has recorded 164,209 COVID-19 cases, 4,400 hospitalizations, and 1,272 deaths, five of them in the past week.

According to Fairfax County Health Department data, 840,040 residents overall — or 71% of the population — are fully vaccinated against Covid, including 80% of residents 18 and older.

The 949,105 residents, or 82% of the population, who have gotten at least one vaccine dose include:

• 89.7% of adults
• 94.9% of 16 to 17 year olds
• 90.4% of 12-15 year olds
• 47.6% of 5-11 year olds

In addition, 34.9% of Fairfax County residents, including 43.5% of adults, have gotten a booster shot or third dose, according to the Virginia Department of Health.