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This is the second in a series of emails to our friends and neighbors in the local area from Craig Kent, MD, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, to highlight our COVID response and how our organization is poised to serve our patients and the community. To sign up for the UVA Health Community Update, subscribe here.

Dear friends and neighbors,

As 2021 begins, I write with hope for a positive change in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the latest on what we are doing at UVA Health to keep our community safe.

As expected, following the holiday season, we are experiencing an increase in COVID-19 positive cases. In preparation, we opened an additional COVID-19 unit in our new 84-bed tower, which is separated from where we treat non-COVID patients. The patient rooms in this facility are specially retrofitted as "negative airflow" rooms. These rooms provide a safer environment for treating patients with airborne infectious diseases like COVID-19. They keep the virus from spreading into public spaces and allow staff to conserve valuable personal protective equipment.

Thanks to our healthcare providers' incredible dedication, our patients have had exceptional outcomes. Survival rates for our most critically ill patients, including those with COVID-19, rank in the top ten percent among academic medical centers across the country. Given the challenges of the pandemic, these remarkable results demonstrate the strength of our outstanding physicians and nurses and the world-class expertise of the infectious disease team at UVA. 

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is charged with COVID-19 vaccine distribution around the Commonwealth and determines priority for vaccinations. At UVA Health, we are following VDH guidelines in vaccinating our team members. The pace of our immunization efforts has been incredible. For a hospital of our size, our vaccine rollout is among the most efficient in the state. We have vaccinated more than 11,000 team members in less than a month and aim to vaccine thousands more on our team by the end of the week. Our vaccinators are going to great lengths to ensure every dose provided to us by the state is used.

By vaccinating so many of our team members so quickly, we have made our hospital and clinics safe for our community. We are also poised to serve as a strong partner to the VDH as the vaccine is distributed to our community and state.

To learn more about Virginia's vaccination plans — including when, where, and how you should expect to receive a vaccine — please visit the VDH's COVID-19 Vaccination page for our regional health district or call its COVID-19 hotline at 434-972-6261.

Thank you for staying vigilant about COVID-19 safety. Know that we continue to host free drive-thru and walk-up community testing events on Mondays and Tuesdays, with no appointments needed. Thanks to the dedicated UVA Health team members who have volunteered more than 2,500 hours to this effort, we have provided more than 5,500 free tests to the community since August.

Until next month, I wish you and your loved ones health and happiness.

With continued hope,

K. Craig Kent, MD
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs
University of Virginia

Meet Our Team: Dr. Taison Bell

Last week, Dr. Bell became one of the first team members at UVA Health to receive a second and final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Bell, a critical care physician, documented his experience on social media and in the press to raise awareness about vaccine safety and expectations. Overall, Dr. Bell reports he experienced minimal side effects, but he explains that some side effects are natural and a sign that the body is responding appropriately to the vaccine.