WATCH: County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti offers updates on Phase 1c and Phase 2 of the vaccination distribution in Virginia and what it means for Arlington County, and provides a timeline of Arlington's aggressive vaccination schedule for the next three weeks.
No. While there is more than one vaccine brand available, local health departments, healthcare providers, pharmacies, and clinics likely will have only one brand available. Vaccine supplies are limited, and you should take whichever COVID-19 vaccine is available to you. Do not wait for a specific brand.
All of the currently authorized and recommended brands of vaccines are safe and effective, and have been proven to protect against serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.
Current COVID-19 variants of concern spread more rapidly and some cause more severe illness.
Rapid spread could lead to more cases, more deaths, and could overwhelm hospitals and healthcare resources.
The more the COVID-19 virus circulates, the greater the chances that new mutations or variants can develop.
Variants of concern have been identified in Virginia and are likely more common in our communities than the number of reported cases suggest.
Public health recommendations to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 will also work to protect us from these new variants. Keep yourself and others safer by:
Wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth when you are around people not in your own household, even if you are outside
Staying at least 6 feet apart from other people when possible
The 11th annual National Public Health Week Twitter Chat is Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET -- celebrate what public health has accomplished and where the movement is going
CDC: The main way people are infected with COVID-19 is exposure to respiratory droplets; risk of infection through contact with contaminated surfaces is generally considered to be low.
