With Thanksgiving this Thursday (Nov. 25), families are preparing to travel and gather, but COVID-19 concerns continue to persist for another holiday season, following the Delta variant and changes in vaccinations.

The vaccine is now commonplace and even available to children as young as 5. But individual preferences on social distancing and getting the vaccine are continuing to affect the holiday season.

Over 228 million people have received at least one dose. That includes millions of kids who weren’t able to get the vaccine prior to Nov. 2 — when around 28 million children became eligible.

It comes following the spread of the coronavirus across countries throughout the world.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has further noted that booster shots, currently only eligible for certain at-risk groups for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines (but all adults for the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine), can help boost immune response, based on small clinical trials.

Meanwhile, travel is poised to make one of its biggest rebounds, notably with flights coming close to 2019 levels, AAA has projected.

Attorney David Whiting worked from home for a few weeks during the COVID-19 shutdown in the spring of 2020, but with a house full of children and seven-day workweeks, he found himself back in his rented single-person office.

Whiting and over 100 members, from tech companies to remote workers, are part of Office Evolution at The Atrium at Worldgate (205 Van Buren St.), a four-story office building in Herndon.

“It’s turnkey,” said Whiting, who has had his law firm, Oak Hill Law Group, there for about two and a half years. “It’s just so damn convenient.”

Office Evolution – Herndon opened in March 2019 and expanded in April by taking over an empty space, extending its footprint to around 12,000 square feet.

“We added 35 offices,” said Martin Gruszka, the location’s owner, noting the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce has taken space in the new office suite.

Kim DeWitt, the location’s business center manager, noted that people are wanting to avoid entire workweeks in a typical office, so the coworking environment helps remote workers have both community and independence. It’s open 24/7.

Customers can have month-to-month memberships with customized leases that allow for shared meeting rooms and other amenities. Others simply just want a mailing address with no physical office space, said Gruszka. He’s seen contractors looking for a way to have a physical location to maintain their relationship with the government.

Gruszka says that its members have been especially interested in looking for focus, quiet and the routine of an office environment.

On the employer side, businesses are looking at underutilized commercial spaces amid teleworking boons.

“We’re seeing a lot more from companies that are paring down their office space,” Gruszka said. “They have a lease: Nobody’s using it anymore,” but companies may want to move a department to a smaller location.

But not all co-working models have been a success. In January, MakeOffices — another co-working space — announced plans to shutter its doors at Reston Town Center and other local locations.

Whiting, who rents a private office there for his law firm, says the formal, stodgy office is changing as businesses look for smaller spaces, and Office Evolution allows him to scale up or scale down depending on his needs.

Even though the world is seeking to recover from COVID-19, many businesses are still struggling. Of over 3,400 businesses surveyed from Oct. 30 to Nov. 9 by networking service Alignable, only 27% of businesses are currently reporting that they are at or above pre-coronavirus revenue levels, which is 8 percentage points worse than the 35% level of progress it reported in July.

Now, as companies advertise jobs, some are offering additional stipends for remote work expenses. Gruszka and DeWitt suggested that workers may want to address what telecommuting reimbursements they get, whether or not they’re in a coworking space.

Metro Service Reductions Continue — Metro will continue with reduced levels of service through at least November 15 as Metro works with the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission on a plan to make sure its 7000-series railcars are safe for service. [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]

Loan Outreach Center Now Open — The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened up a temporary disaster loan outreach center in Montgomery County, Maryland to help local businesses impacted by Tropical Storm Ida. Fairfax County is an eligible jurisdiction. Residents and businesses can seek help for disaster loan assistance applications. [Fairfax County Government]

County Seeks Police Officers — The county is looking to fill a number of positions in the public safety sector. Applications are open for the Fairfax County Police Department. Salaries range from around $54,000 to $88,000. [FCPD]

What You Need to Know About Vaccines for Kids — Pediatric doses for children between ages five and 11 are expected to begin in the county in early November. As a result of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation, 97,000 kids in the Fairfax Health District are now eligible for the vaccine. [Fairfax County Government]

Photo by David Taube

County Tries to Vaccinate Unhoused Residents — Fairfax county officials have launched an effort to encourage the county’s roughly 1,200 unhoused residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Public health workers have a mighty task ahead as the county is large and people experience homelessness in different capacities, including in shelters, deep in the woods and in encampments. [DCist]

Child-sized Mask Donations Needed — The county is in need of 10,000 masks for children. The largest need is small masks for toddlers and you-size masks for school-aged kids. County officials say they’ve received requests from nonprofit partners for masks but can’t fill them because they do not have enough masks. [Fairfax County Government]

Anti-theft bike racks available in Reston Town Center — Boston Properties recently worked with Bikeep, a San Fransisco-based micromobility enabler, to install several app-activated bike racks in Reston Town Center. The stations were installed at the end of the spring. [Bikeep]

LGBTQ+ Group Decries Efforts to Remove Books — A group that represents more than 425 LGBTQIA students told the Fairfax County School Board that it should reject an effort by some parents to remove two books from school libraries. [Reston Patch]

Reston Company Helps Dump Data — A Reston-based data privacy and governance software provider company called ActiveNav wants to help companies dump extra data. The company created a new tool that helps others analyze what data is toxic or vulnerable. [Technical.ly]

Proposed Plea Deal in Alleged Child Rapist Case Rejected — A Fairfax County judge rejected a proposed plea deal between prosecutors and a man accused of repeatedly raping a girl — a rare step that cast some doubt on evidence presented by the Herndon Police Department’s investigators. The three-year sentence was perceived as too lenient. [The Washington Post]

County Health Department Waits for Guidance on Booster Shots — The county’s health department is waiting on federal and state partners to determine when to begin offering booster shots to residents who have already received the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19. [Fairfax County Government]

After reopening its doors for the first indoor production during the pandemic in August, Herndon’s NextStop Theatre Company plans to scale back its programming schedule for this fall due to risks posed by the Delta variant of COVID-19.

The theatre company will postpone two of its three planned productions due to a resurgence of cases in the area. Producing artist director Evan Hoffmann noted that the company is balancing the objectives of reviving live theatre in the Dulles Corridor while protecting the health and safety of the community.

“We were devastated to have to make the difficult decision to postpone our original plans for this Fall. Like so many others, we truly believed that our community was turning the page on Covid and ready to get back to normal,” Hoffman wrote in a statement. “But the health and safety of our community remains our highest priority and we will not compromise on that commitment. We remain ready and eager to return to full-scale productions when conditions seem right. But in the meantime, we are excited to have created a path forward that makes live theater possible and keeps safety at the forefront.”

NextStop plans to present four new and smaller productions. Next week, “A Familiar Melody” revives nearly two dozen songs from popular Broadway and movie musicals. The production will run on weekends from Oct. 1 through Oct. 17.

Descriptions of each show, as provided by NextStop, are below:

Just in time for Halloween, NextStop will stage The Turn of the Screw. Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the story by Henry James, this classic ghost story depicts the trials of a young governess, haunted by ghosts while caring for two orphaned children on a remote estate in the English countryside. This innovative adaptation is a spine-tingling, tour de force for two actors and will be directed by Christopher Richardson. The Turn of the Screw will run weekends from October 22 through November 7, 2021.

In November, the laughs will return to NextStop with the hilarious, one-woman comedy Fully Committed by Becky Mode. This devastatingly funny show follows a day in the life of Samantha, an out-of-work actress who works the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan’s number-one restaurant. Coercion, threats, bribes, histrionics–a cast of desperate callers will stop at nothing in their zeal to land a prime reservation or the right table. NextStop favorite Jaclyn Young (Crimes of the Heart, The Wedding Singer, The Sidekick’ Cabaret) will take on forty roles in less than eighty minutes, under the direction of Jennifer Redford. Fully Committed will have a limited, two weekend run from November 12-21, 2021.

Finally in December, NextStop will celebrate the holiday season with Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) by John K. Alvarez, Michael Carleton, and James FitzGerald. In the tradition of NextStop’s hit production of 45 Plays For 45 Presidents, this fast, furious, and slightly irreverent look at holiday classics and traditions puts three performers to the test. Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Grinch, and just about every other seasonal character you can think of make an appearance in this racy comedy that will have you laughing all the way to the New Year! Producing Artistic Director Evan Hoffmann will direct. Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) will run weekends from December 3-19, 2021.

Performers will remain at least six feet from the audience at all times and each production will run for between 75 to 90 minutes in order to avoid the need for an intermission.

All attendees are required to wear a mask while in the building and provide proof of vaccination. A nearly 50 percent reduction in capacity will also be enforced.

Full refunds will be provided if a show is canceled or if attendees are uncomfortable with attending a live performance.

Senior Movie Day Returns — Reston Association’s senior movie day returns to Bow Tie Cinema in Reston Town Center today. Doors open at 9:15 a.m. and the movie — Queen Bees — begins at 10 a.m. The event began in 1994 and was paused roughly 18 months ago due to the pandemic. [Reston Today]

Police Chief Issues Alert After Overdoses — The Fairfax County Police Department’s police chief alerted the community yesterday after six people overdosed in one morning in Falls Church. All six adults ranged from 23 to 35 years of age. [Fairfax County Police Department]

County Community Transmission Still High — COVID-19 transmission in the county is still high, although more than 62 percent of the county’s population is fully vaccinated. The county’s health department offered an update to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week. [Fairfax County Government]

An Update on Early Voting — So far, more than 2,600 people have voted in person so far during the first three days of early voting. Three voting sites are open during weekdays in the county. [Fairfax County Government]

Vaccine Mandate In Effect for Chamber Events — The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce is requiring attendees of in-person events to show proof of vaccination. Fully vaccinated attendees will not be required to wear a face mask. While some exceptions may be made, attendees who are not vaccinated can provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of the event. [Reston Patch]

Polo Tennis Court Closed — The tennis court will be closed for refurbishments beginning today. Repairs are expected to take between two and three weeks. [Reston Association]

Local Elementary School Earns High Honors — Sunrise Valley Elementary School has been named the 14th best elementary school in Fairfax County, according to a national ranking. [Reston Patch]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

TransUnion to Buy Reston-based Company — TransUnion will acquire most of Neustar Inc., an information services and technology company based in Reston. The company has agreed to sell its marketing, fraud and communications businesses for $3.1 billion in cash. But the deal excludes the its cybersecurity business. [Washington Business Journal]

Local Apartment Community Has New Owner — J Harbor Park at North Point, a 190-unit apartment community in Reston, was acquired by Jefferson Apartment Group, a multifamily developer and operator.The development is expected to undergo renovations in the coming months. [Commercial Observer]

Local Vaccine Clinic Today at Wiehle-Reston East — The county’s health department is hosting a vaccine clinic at the Wiehle-Reston Metro Station for most of the day today. Can’t make it today? Another clinic is planned for Thursday. Walk-ins and appointments are available. [Reston Association]

Deer Management Program Underway — The county’s annual deer management archery program is underway through Feb. 19. It’s part of a longstanding effort to reduce the white-tailed deer population in the county. The county notes that only approved members of the its program can hunt in designated parks. [Fairfax County Government]

Fairfax County Public Schools will provide additional compensation for select staff members, particularly bus drivers and special education teachers, and bolster its mental health services, thanks to a new round of federal COVID-19 relief.

The ESSER III (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) spending plan approved by the Fairfax County School Board on Thursday (Aug. 26) devotes $188.6 million to various expenses tied to keeping schools open and safe during the ongoing pandemic.

The funds will last for three years and came from the American Rescue Plan Act that Congress passed in March.

“We believe our ESSER 3 plan addresses key areas to support schools as they return to in-person instruction from the pandemic as well as increase our focus on serving students and staff in our school division with an equity lens,” Superintendent Scott Brabrand said in a statement for the board’s meeting last week.

The school board approved the measure almost unanimously. Braddock District Representative Megan McLaughlin abstained, restating concerns that the spending plan doesn’t contain the level of detail she wanted to ensure adequate oversight.

The multi-year funding covers:

• Nearly $55 million for academic intervention
• $46 million to pay special education teachers more for increased workloads connected with the pandemic and individualized education plans
• $23 million for social and emotional learning needs of students
• Nearly $14 million for after-school programming and transportation
• $10 million for cafeteria, classroom, and outdoor monitors
• $9 million for cybersecurity
• $3 million to increase bus drivers’ starting pay from $19.58 per hour to $22.91

The academic and social and emotional learning categories encompass everything from tutoring support for before and after school programs to mental health materials, technical education, and transportation to school programs on Saturdays.

“Each school will receive funding allocations as well as stipends for academics and wellness,” FCPS said in a news release on Friday (Aug. 27). “The academic and wellness allocations are to be used to directly support students. The amount each school receives is based on its project enrollment and need.”

For academic and wellness-related items, which make up 82% of the allocations, elementary schools are expected to receive about $50,000 to $189,000, middle schools will get $69,000 to $298,000, and high schools can count on around $105,000 to $368,000.

Schools will get similar amounts to address social and emotional learning needs, resulting in about $37 per student.

The plan was designed to give schools flexibility in how they spend their money, while also establishing checks and balances for approving and overseeing the money, according to FCPS.

“All schools will create a plan that outlines how they will use their ESSER III funding to support students’ academics and wellness, and they will post information about their plan on the school website,” FCPS said.

The plan also calls on FCPS to fast track the addition of 10 positions for its English Language Learner programs, which already include 887 positions, 98% of which are teachers, Brabrand noted.

According to the state, $124 million was available as of April 30 for Fairfax County, and the remaining third will become available after FCPS submits a plan to the state due on Wednesday (Sept. 1).

The Commonwealth required school districts to post their plans for using the money within 90 days of receiving the funds. Districts were also required to gather public input, which FCPS did with a hearing on June 7.

The ESSER plan is separate from the year-end budget review that the school board approved during the same meeting on Thursday, which included one-time bonuses for FCPS staff.

After hovering in the “substantial” category throughout August, Fairfax County is officially seeing high levels of COVID-19 spread within the community, putting it in line with almost all of Virginia.

The county went from orange to red when the Virginia Department of Health updated its dashboard this morning (Monday) for the week of Aug. 22-28. Manassas Park is now the only locality in the state not reporting high community transmission, a dot of “moderate” yellow amid a sea of crimson.

The Fairfax County Health Department attributes the continued rise in virus cases to the prevalence of the Delta variant, which spreads more easily between people than previous strains and is now the most common strain in Northern Virginia.

“We continue to do all we can to educate, vaccinate, and limit the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Fairfax County Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu said in a statement. “…The level of community transmission in Northern Virginia — and the rest of the Commonwealth — is now classified as “High”, emphasizing the importance of prevention wherever we live, work, play and learn. We urge everyone to continue to be vigilant about layered prevention strategies and for all those who are eligible to receive vaccination to do so.”

Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s metrics, VDH determines the level of community transmission based on the total number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 persons and the percentage of COVID-19 tests that come back positive over the last seven days.

While Fairfax County’s weekly testing positivity rate actually dropped from 6.2% during the week of Aug. 15-21 to 5.1% this past week, which would still be considered moderate transmission, the number of new cases per 100,000 people jumped from 99.2 to 109.5 over that same time frame, putting the county over the 100-case threshold for high transmission.

With one day left in the month, the Fairfax Health District has reported fewer than 100 new COVID-19 cases in a day just twice in August. Another 116 cases came in today, bringing the weekly average up to 182.6 cases — the highest mark since April 14, when the county averaged 184.3 daily new cases over the previous seven days.

The district, which includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church as well as Fairfax County, has now recorded a total of 83,902 COVID-19 cases over the course of the pandemic. 4,253 residents have been hospitalized with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and 1,164 residents have died, including eight since last Monday (Aug. 23).

According to the VDH, the vast majority of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths statewide continue to occur in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people, who have contracted COVID-19 at 13.3 and 2.6 times the rate of their fully vaccinated counterparts, respectively.

The Fairfax Health District has administered a total of 1.46 million vaccine doses so far, though the federal government’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine on Aug. 23 doesn’t appear to have spurred a sudden uptick in demand.

787,408 residents — or 66.5% of the district’s total population, including 78.7% of people 18 and older — have now gotten at least one shot, according to the Fairfax County Health Department’s vaccine dashboard. 6,369 more people joined the club over the past week, roughly on par with the 6,257 people who got their first inoculation in the week before that.

712,389 residents are fully vaccinated, which amounts to 71.6% of adults and 60.2% of the overall population.

Photo via CDC on Unsplash

NoVA Child Dies From COVID-19 — “Today, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced that a child in the Northern Region with COVID-19 has died. VDH will disclose no further information about the child to protect privacy and out of respect for the patient’s family. This is the first reported death of a child in the Northern Region with COVID-19 in Virginia.” [VDH]

Fairfax County Task Force Returns From Haiti — Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responders who deployed to Haiti as part of the Virginia Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue team came home on Wednesday (Aug. 25). The 65-member task force landed at Dulles International Airport after 11 days of supporting the disaster response to the Aug. 14 earthquake that devastated the island nation. [WTOP]

Charges Anticipated in Herndon Stabbing — As of 5:45 p.m. yesterday (Thursday), the suspect in a stabbing that occured that morning in the 1000 block of Elden Street in Herndon had not yet been apprehended, but a police department spokesperson said they “do not believe he poses an immediate danger to our community.” Charges are expected to be filed in the case today (Friday). [Patch]

FCPS Sees Decline in Test Participation — “Fairfax County and Virginia schools as a whole saw declining participation in the spring 2021 Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. At Fairfax County Public Schools, participation rates fell by an average 20 percent in reading, mathematics, and science. Around 50,000 tests were refused this year, compared to over 500 in 2018-19.” [Patch]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

The U.S. has its first officially approved COVID-19 vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration announced this morning (Monday) that it has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for individuals 16 and older based on updated data from clinical trials that showed the vaccine is 91% effective at preventing the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

That is lower than the 95% effectiveness rate reported on Dec. 11, when the Pfizer vaccine became the first innoculation authorized for emergency use in the country, but the FDA says the vaccine meets its standards for safety, quality, and effectiveness, including against hospitalization or death due to a COVID-19 infection.

“While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated,” Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”

The Pfizer vaccine also remains authorized for use by adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age. Moderna started the process to get full approval of its vaccine, which is currently authorized for adults 18 and older, on June 1, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is still available for adults after a brief pause this spring.

The full approval allows Pfizer to advertise its vaccine and continue selling it after the federal public health emergency for the pandemic ends, but local and state officials hope it will also convince more people to get vaccinated, as COVID-19 cases continue to climb due to the highly infectious Delta variant.

“Today’s news is yet another reaffirmation that vaccines are safe and effective,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a statement. “Though all three COVID vaccines are approved for emergency use, the FDA’s official approval of Pfizer’s vaccine is good news for our community. We have been distributing Pfizer since day one and have plenty on hand for those who would like one. Anyone who is not vaccinated, or who was waiting for this FDA action, should go get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones against COVID-19.”

Today's formal approval of the @pfizer vaccine is another important step in the fight against #COVID19. Today is a great day to get vaccinated to protect yourself and others. https://t.co/p8vdPPBCO3

— Governor Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) August 23, 2021

Good news! A step forward in getting more people vaccinated. #HunterMill #EndThePandemic https://t.co/xqouWMmdcV

— Supervisor Walter Alcorn (@WalterAlcornFFX) August 23, 2021

According to Virginia Department of Health data, Fairfax County reported 206 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Aug. 20), the first time its single-day caseload surpassed 200 since April 13. With another 336 cases coming in over the weekend and 124 cases added today, including from the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, the Fairfax Health District has seen a total of 82,600 cases since the start of the pandemic.

4,227 people in the district have been hospitalized, and 1,156 people have died from the virus.

The county is now averaging 178.9 cases per day over the past seven days, a tick down from 182.9 cases yesterday (Sunday), which was the highest weekly average since April 14.

With more than 80 cases per 100,000 people reported in the last week and a testing positivity rate of 4.4% as of the week ending on Aug. 14, the county’s community transmission level remains substantial. Read More

Fairfax County is still seeing substantial levels of COVID-19 community transmission, necessitating the continued use of masks as the county hopes to get the coronavirus back under control with schools set to reopen next week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Virginia Department of Health measure community transmission levels using the total number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people and the percentage of positive tests in the past seven days.

Fairfax County’s testing positivity rate for the week of Aug. 8-14 was 4.5%, up from 3% at the end of June but still in the threshold for “low” transmission. However, the county has recorded 76.2 cases per 100,000 people in the past week, which is high enough to be considered substantial transmission.

With the addition of 103 cases today (Monday), the Fairfax Health District, including the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, has recorded a total of 81,427 COVID-19 cases during the pandemic. 4,213 people have been hospitalized, and 1,154 people have died, including one person within the past week.

The county is now averaging 136.4 new daily cases for the past seven days — the highest weekly average since April 23, which had a seven-day average of 141.6 cases, according to VDH.

The Fairfax County Health Department had not noticed a “discernable” increase in vaccination rates over the four weeks since the Delta variant-fueled rise in cases began, a department spokesperson told Reston Now last Monday (Aug. 9), but since then, an additional 9,697 Fairfax Health District residents have gotten their first vaccine dose.

In comparison, just 4,627 people obtained their first shot between Aug. 2 and 9.

Overall, 774,782 Fairfax Health District residents have received at least one vaccine dose. That is 65.5% of the total population and 77.6% of residents 18 and older, according to the county health department’s vaccine data dashboard.

699,412 residents — 70.6% of adults and 59.1% of the total population — are now fully vaccinated.

VDH announced on Friday (Aug. 13) that it will provide third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to people with moderate to severe compromised immune systems in accordance with a new recommendation by the CDC.

“Studies have shown that people with a compromised immune system can have a weak response to the standard vaccine regimen, and that a third dose is needed to strengthen immunity in these persons and protect them from serious COVID-19 complications,” VDH said in its news release.

According to CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, immunocompromised people have accounted for 40 to 44% of the hospitalized breakthrough cases reported in the U.S.

As of Friday, Virginia has recorded 4,056 breakthrough COVID-19 cases, including 233 hospitalizations and 52 deaths. However, 240,980 cases, 8,383 hospitalizations, and 2,786 deaths have involved a person who is only partially vaccinated or not vaccinated at all.

98.3% of all cases, 97.2% of hospitalizations, and 98.2% of deaths are people who are not fully vaccinated.

Photo via CDC on Unsplash