News

On Monday, the Mayor announced new milestones to get more COVID vaccine shots into arms, as well as loosened some pandemic social restrictions.

The announcements come as the vaccination rate for DC residents slowly climbs and the number of cases plateau. As of April 5, 23% of District residents had received at least one dose of a vaccine. That number is 8% of Ward 8 residents, however.

The Mayor announced that in two weeks, the District will begin scheduling vaccine appointments for all residents over the age of 16. Currently, the District is in Phase 1B, with expansion to Phase 1C to begin next week. In addition, Arena Stage will begin offering vaccinations as a "high capacity" site beginning this weekend. DC Health and MedStar Health will operate the facility.

Arena Stage joins the Convention Center, Entertainment and Sports Arena, and Providence as the District-based high capacity centers. This week saw a new high-capacity vaccination center open in Greenbelt, Maryland, that permitted DC residents to register for vaccinations. Arena Stage is expected to offer one-shot Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines, while a new Safeway partnership will boost the number of Pfizer vaccines at the Convention Center.

As a reminder, any District resident over the age of 16 may pre-register for a vaccine appointment now at coronavirus.dc.gov. The District is urging residents to do so to allow appointment scheduling to go smoothly when eligibility expands in the coming weeks.

At her Monday press conference, the Mayor also announced anticipated relaxations of pandemic restrictions next month. Some of the new allowances anticipated include:

• Business meetings and conventions will be allowed at indoor and outdoor venues at 25% capacity
• Graduation ceremonies will be allowed both indoors and outdoors with more guidance to follow
• Recreation centers and fitness facilities will operate at 50% capacity
• Libraries and museums can operate at 50% capacity