The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in D.C. was administered on this day last year. Local public health and community leaders reflect on what has — and has not — been achieved so far.

The increase comes as omicron emerges across the D.C. area, and residents prepare for another holiday of travel and indoor gathering.

Employees at these facilities who don’t get vaccinated will be required to get tested for COVID-19 weekly.

New mask mandates and rising case counts have triggered old anxieties for some locals, as we face yet another unprecedented pandemic chapter. 

The mandates start Saturday at midnight and Friday at 5 p.m., respectively.

The guidance says students and staff at elementary schools should be required to wear a mask, while in middle and high schools it would only apply to those not yet vaccinated.

Gov. Larry Hogan announced the new VaxU Scholarship program, which will award $50,000 scholarships in a lottery running through Labor Day.