January 2023
2022 brought a variety of disasters home to Virginia. From winter weather to severe flooding, remnants of a hurricane, plane crashes, capsized boats, hazmat spills, search and rescue operations for cars submerged and missing people, and a mass shooting...Virginians have been through a lot in the last year -- and that doesn't include everything.
 VDEM and FEMA conduct preliminary damage assessments following Buchanan County Flooding
While it's never fun to look back on events that negatively impacted us -- some more significantly than others -- it's a reminder to us all of the importance of knowing our risks, making an emergency plan, and staying informed.
The Partners in Preparedness program is here to support those preparedness and educational efforts, and make sure that this information is available to all Virginians, no matter their ability, race, sex, age, religious creed or otherwise.
Since the Partners in Preparedness program officially launched in May of 2022, we have over 200 groups signed up to receive this newsletter as Partners. Each one of those Partners represents a group, whether it be a faith-based group, business, education, a local government, a non-profit organization, or other entity, which means that our reach is exponential!
What's coming for Partners in Preparedness in 2023?
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We have Partners signed up in each of our 7 VDEM regions, with groups already identified to Partner with in the near future. We have secured funding to print copies of this important emergency preparedness information so that we can encourage our communities to start working on their family's personal emergency plan -- an important step in the preparedness process. |
We have Partners signed up in each of our 7 VDEM regions, with groups already identified to Partner with in the near future. We have secured funding to print copies of this important emergency preparedness information so that we can encourage our communities to start working on their family's personal emergency plan -- an important step in the preparedness process.
One major goal in 2023 now that the program is up and running is to have a lot more of a boots-on-the-ground approach to community outreach. This means that we want you to invite us to come speak to your group, whether it be virtually or in-person, about the importance of emergency preparedness. We want to talk to your colleagues, your Girl or Boy Scouts, your church, or your organization about how they can prepare, and bring tools with us to help them. Invite us to speak to your organization or have a table at your event by emailing PIO@vdem.virginia.gov.
We are excited about what this new year holds for the future of the Partners in Preparedness program!
Together, we can help amplify this life-saving information!
 The latest mutation of the Omicron variant is being described as "the most transmissible" descendent of Omicron yet, according the World Health Organization.
XBB.1.5 is quickly becoming the dominant strain in parts of the United States, as it went from an estimated 2 percent of cases at the beginning of December to 28 percent the first week of January, according to new estimates by the CDC.
The Virginia Department of Health's variant tracker is currently only reporting through December 25, and shows that the dominant variants were BA.5, BQ.1.1, and XBB -- NOT this latest XBB.1.5.
Despite this newest variant not being the dominant strain (as of December 25) in Virginia, we have seen a significant spike in the average number of reported cases in recent weeks. The average number of new weekly cases starting in mid-October was roughly 1,000, with the average closer to 2,500 the first week of January.
 Not only is this latest variant spreading a lot easier, it seems to be more resistant to immunity from a vaccine or previous infection. In fact, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Coordinator says, "if you had an infection before July (2022), or your last vaccine was before the bivalent update in September (2022), your protection against XBB.1.5 infection is probably not that great."
Taking a look at a breakdown of some of the demographics of the cases here in Virginia, in the last 13 weeks:
The largest age group infected in this timeframe was 50-59, closely followed by 60-69 year olds. In terms of race and ethnicity, White people are most infected by far, with 218,935 cases. Second is Black, with 64,417 cases, and third is Latino with 23,961.
Currently, there are 990 patients hospitalized with COVID in Virginia; 135 of which are in the ICU. There are 44 patients currently receiving ventilator support.
So what is the federal government doing?
Dr. Jha tweeted some great reminders that you'll see below.
Important to note -- vaccines are still free, and you can still get 4 at-home tests shipped right to your front door for free as well (even if you already had some shipped previously). Visit covidtest.gov to order yours today!
(You can read this whole tweet thread here to learn more)
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Join An Upcoming Webinar On Recognizing & Reporting Human Trafficking
For National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the DHS Blue Campaign invites you to attend one of our webinars on recognizing and responding to potential cases of human trafficking. Members of the public are invited to attend this webinar where representatives from Blue Campaign will provide an overview of what human trafficking is, the indicators, how to report a suspected human trafficking situation, and available resources to raise awareness in your communities. The dates and times of the webinars are as follows:
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- Session 1: Tuesday, January 17th, 2023, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET
- Session 2: Tuesday, January 24th, 2023, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET (Offered in Spanish)
Register via the following links:
DCR is seeking your input as we develop a Community Outreach and Engagement Plan (COEP) to help us ensure that everyone can participate as we build Flood Resilience that works for all Virginians.
DCR, jointly with the Director of Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion, have prepared the COEP that is designed to be a framework for a whole community approach to outreach that will allow the DCR to involve a wide range of stakeholders and impacted parties in the Development of Flood Resilience Plans. To that end, the COEP describes overall goals, the type of outreach activities that will be conducted, and the general approach that the DCR will take in conducting these outreach activities. Detailed actions and deliverables to fulfill this framework will be developed through a Request for Proposal that the DCR intends to issue as the means of developing the Plans themselves.
Please review the document and provide your input through a public comment forum on Virginia Town Hall Website [Public Comment Forum Link]. The public comment period will close January 31, 2023.
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