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August 23rd, 2020 
Awake Goy Health Commissioner Norman Oliver told a Richmond station he intends to mandate the coronavirus vaccine when it has been proven safe.
By Mark Hand, Patch Staff
Virginia’s top health official plans to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for the state’s residents when a vaccine becomes available to the public. (Shutterstock)
VIRGINIA — Virginia’s top health official plans to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for the state’s residents when a vaccine becomes available to the public. Health Commissioner Dr. NormanOliver told a Richmond news station Friday that as long as he is still the state’s health commissioner, he intends to mandate the coronavirus vaccine.
Oliver emphasized that the state would only launch a mass vaccination campaign as long as the vaccine has been proven to be safe.
“It is killing people now. We don’t have a treatment for it and if we develop a vaccine that can prevent it from spreading in the community, we will save hundreds and hundreds of lives,” Oliver told 8News.
Many companies around the world are currently working on developing a coronavirus vaccine. Experts are expecting a vaccine to be available for the public in early 2021.
On Saturday, the Virginia Department of Health reported the number of new cases of the disease across the state increased by more than 1,200, while the number of hospitalizations of people with the coronavirus fell to its lowest number in more than a month.
The VDH reported 1,212 additional coronavirus cases Saturday and seven new deaths from the disease. The cumulative total of cases in Virginia is 112,072, and deaths stand at 2,443. There have been 9,139 coronavirus hospitalizations to date.
Across the state, 1,154 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 1,233 hospitalizations reported Friday. The number of hospitalizations is at the lowest point since July 16 when 1,134 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus. Since the start of the pandemic, the highest number of hospitalizations was May 8 when 1,625 people were hospitalized.
The Virginia General Assembly is considering a bill during its special session that would allow people with religious opposition to opt out of a vaccination mandate. The bill is still in a committee in the House of Delegates.
Oliver told 8News that he strongly opposes the bill. While he does not know what would happen to people who do not get vaccinated, Oliver told the news station that he expects most people will respond to the mandate by getting the vaccine.
A new Marist poll shows 35 percent of adults across the nation would not get a COVID-19 vaccination.
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