Worth a shot
On September 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved updated COVID-19 boosters, manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer. The shots will be rolled out alongside the seasonal flu vaccine. The vaccines are approved for all individuals 12 years and older, and are considered safe for those between 6 months and 11 years.
Across the nation, COVID cases have been slowly but steadily rising. In Virginia, 2.25 percent of all emergency department visits for the first week of September were for COVID-19, up from 1.02 percent at the beginning of August.
As the country faces another round of shots, federal officials prefer to label these new vaccines annual immunizations, like the flu shot, instead of boosters. This upcoming rollout is the first since the national public health emergency ended in May.
The new vaccine may not be free to everyone. While the United States government bought and distributed millions of doses administered to Americans during the pandemic, private insurance and services like Medicare are expected to foot the bill this time.
People who are uninsured may be able to get vaccinated at health clinics or by safety net providers. In addition, the Biden administration says the Department of Health and Human Services’ Bridge Access Program will allow people who are not insured to have free access to COVID vaccines through December 2024.
Virginia strong
The University of Virginia and James Madison University football teams met for the first time in 40 years on Saturday, September 9. The matchup, the Cavs’ 500th game at Scott Stadium, was UVA’s first home game since Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were murdered last November.
Thirty minutes prior to the noon kickoff, a ceremony was held to honor the slain players and their families. A video tribute, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, was followed by parachuters, each one carrying a flag with the players’ numbers (1,15, and 41), who landed on the field.
As he did last week, Mike Hollins, waving a “Virginia Strong” flag, led the Hoos onto the field. The UVA players knelt in the end zone where “Virginia Strong” was painted, along with the deceased players’ names and numbers.
Speaking to ESPN after the Cavaliers’ 35-36 loss (following a weather delay of over an hour), Head Coach Tony Elliott said, “We’ve got a football team in there that battled really, really, really hard for the last 10 months to get to this point. Do they deserve to win? I believe so. Because of the people that they are, and what they’ve been through.”
In brief
Return performance
Former UVA basketball star Wally Walker is returning to serve as the Hoos’ deputy athletics director, according to a September 11 press release. Walker led Virginia to its first ACC Championship in 1976, and was picked fifth overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA draft that year. After eight years in the NBA—including two NBA championships—Walker went on to serve in executive roles for several professional sports teams.
New UVA shooting charges
On September 6, 13 new indictments against Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. were returned as true bills by an Albemarle County special grand jury. The indictments include six counts of aggravated murder in connection with the shooting of University of Virginia football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry last November. Previously, Jones was charged with second-degree murder for the offense. Aggravated murder is a class 1 felony, and carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole and up to a $100,000 fine.
DEA drug raid
At a September 7 press conference, local and national law enforcement announced 19 people were charged and 17 arrested during a major drug bust in Charlottesville on September 6. The drug trafficking ring reportedly handled methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, and operated at a large scale in and around the city. The raid took place in the Fry’s Spring area around 6am, resulting in a heavy law enforcement presence.
