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Virginia Health Officials Confirm Third 2025 Measles Case in the State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 5, 2025
Media Contact: Logan Anderson, logan.anderson@vdh.virginia.gov

Virginia Health Officials Confirm Third 2025 Measles Case in the State
Virginia Department of Health is Working to Identify People Who Are at Risk

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is reporting the state’s third measles case of the year. The patient is a child (0-4 years) in the Northwest Region who developed symptoms after exposure to another Virginia measles case. To protect the family’s privacy, VDH will not provide any additional information about the patient. Public health officials are coordinating efforts to identify anyone who might have been exposed.

Listed below are the dates, times, and locations of potential exposure sites in Virginia:

SugarBear Ice Cream, located at 1522 E. High Street in Charlottesville on Saturday, May 31, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Indoor exposures pose the greatest risk for measles. There is minimal risk of exposure for people who were only outdoors at this location.
Lowe’s Home Improvement, located at 400 Woodbrook Drive in Charlottesville on Sunday, June 1, between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.

This case is the third case reported in Virginia in 2025. The first case was reported in April and the second case was reported in May. For the latest information on measles cases in Virginia, please visit the VDH Measles Homepage.

What should you do if you were at the above locations on the day and time specified?

If you have received two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, or were born before 1957, you are protected and do not need to take any action.
If you have never received a measles containing vaccine (either the measles, mumps and rubella [MMR] vaccine or a measles-only vaccine which is available in other countries), you may be at risk of developing measles. Anyone who might have been exposed and is considered to be at risk of developing measles should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
Non-immune individuals may qualify for post-exposure treatments. People who might have been exposed and are not immune should contact their health care provider or local health department immediately to coordinate administration of post-exposure prophylaxis.
Watch for symptoms for 21 days after the date of your potential exposure. If you notice symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home. Contact your healthcare provider right away. If you need to seek healthcare, call ahead before going to your healthcare provider’s office or the emergency room to notify them that you may have been exposed to measles and ask them to call the local health department. This call will help protect other patients and staff.
Anyone with an immunocompromising condition should consult with their healthcare provider if they have questions or develop symptoms.
If you have received only one dose of a measles-containing vaccine, you are very likely to be protected and your risk of being infected with measles from any of these exposures is very low. However, to achieve the highest level of protection, contact your healthcare provider about getting a second vaccine dose.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that can spread easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Measles symptoms usually appear in two stages. In the first stage, most people have a fever of greater than 101 degrees, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a cough. These symptoms usually start seven to fourteen days after being exposed. The second stage starts three to five days after symptoms start, when a rash begins to appear on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. People with measles are contagious from four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appeared.

Measles is preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are given to provide lifetime protection. Virginia has high measles vaccination rates, with approximately 95% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated against measles. However, infants who are too young to be vaccinated, and others who are not vaccinated, are very susceptible to infection if they are exposed to measles. Infants six months through 11 months of age who will be traveling internationally, or to an outbreak setting, should receive one dose of MMR vaccine prior to travel. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have questions about the MMR vaccine.

To check your immunization status, call your healthcare provider or request your vaccination records using the VDH Immunization Record Request Form. Virginia residents with additional questions about their potential exposure can email epi_response@vdh.virginia.gov or contact your local health department.

For more information about measles visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/measles/

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Virginia Department of Health and Office of Vital Records Release Top Baby Names for 2024, Other Interesting Virginia Birth Data

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 2, 2025
Media Contact: Tristen Franklin, tristen.franklin@vdh.virginia.gov

Virginia Department of Health and Office of Vital Records Release Top Baby Names for 2024, Other Interesting Virginia Birth Data

RICHMOND, Va. – Choosing the perfect baby’s name is one of the first big decisions for new parents. However, certain names stole the spotlight in 2024 in the state of Virginia. Whether inspired by timeless classics, modern trends, or cultural favorites, these names are winning over families across the state. But the best name of all the 94,443 babies born in 2024 is the one you chose for your own bundle of joy.

“The 2024 list showcases a blend of strong, meaningful names that parents are embracing for their little ones,” said Celes Davis, chief deputy state registrar for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Today, the Office of Vital Records (OVR) in the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) unveils its lists of top 15 baby names for children born in the Commonwealth in 2024. Curious to see if your favorite made the list?

Liam and Charlotte continue to hold their reign as Virginia’s most popular baby names in 2024, just as they did in 2023. Liam remains the top choice for boys, while Charlotte keeps its crown as the most popular name for girls, marking another year at the top.

Overall, for boys born in 2024, after Liam, the names of Noah, James, Oliver, William, Henry, Theodore, Lucas, Elijah, John, Levi, Ethan, Dylan, Benjamin and Michael rounded out the Top 15. The remaining popular girl’s names were Olivia, Emma, Sophia, Amelia, Isabella, Mia, Ava, Eleanor, Evelyn, Harper, Elizabeth, Sofia, Abigail and Aurora.

Data also reveals the most popular baby names for Asian, Black, Hispanic and White parents.

Among Asian parents, the Top Five boys’ and girls’ names were Noah and Sophia, followed by Muhammad, Henry, Lucas and Ethan for the boys and Emma, Olivia, Chloe and Eliana for the girls. Black parents’ Top Five boys’ and girls’ names were Noah and Nova, followed by Amir, Josiah, Elijah and Ezra for the boys and Naomi, Ava, Brielle and Zuri for the girls. Among Hispanic parents, the top boys’ and girls’ names were Liam and Mia with Dylan, Matteo, Noah and Thiago rounding out the Top Five for boys and with Isabella, Sofia, Genesis and Camila round out the Top Five for girls. For White parents, James and Charlotte were the most popular names followed by William, Oliver, Henry and Theodore rounding out the Top Five for boys and Olivia, Eleanor, Amelia and Emma rounding out the Top Five for girls.

Baby name trends are always evolving, and over the past five years, we’ve seen some exciting shifts. From 2019 to 2024, new favorites have emerged, classic names have made comebacks, and unique picks have skyrocketed in popularity. Whether inspired by pop culture, nature, or timeless elegance, these rising baby names are shaping a whole new generation. Curious which names are climbing the charts? Let’s take a look at the baby names on the rise.

Boys

Rank	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1	Liam	Liam	Liam	Liam	Liam	Liam
2	Noah	Noah	Noah	Noah	Noah	Noah
3	William	William	James	James	James	James
4	James	James	William	William	Oliver	William
5	Lucas	Oliver	Oliver	Oliver	William	Oliver

Girls

Rank	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1	Ava	Charlotte	Charlotte	Charlotte	Charlotte	Charlotte
2	Charlotte	Olivia	Olivia	Olivia	Olivia	Olivia
3	Olivia	Ava	Emma	Emma	Emma	Sophia
4	Emma	Emma	Ava	Ava	Sophia	Emma
5	Sophia	Amelia	Sophia	Amelia	Amelia	Amelia

In 1998, more than a quarter of a century ago, parents were choosing names that would define a generation. Jacob and Emily topped the charts as the most popular baby names when 912 baby boys were named Jacob, and 684 baby girls were named Emily. Other classics like Matthew, Hannah, Michael and Sarah followed close behind. Information about popular names in each of the 50 states going back to 1960 is available from the Social Security Administration by using its Popular Names by Decade tool.

Ever wondered when most babies make their grand entrance into the world? Turns out, some days, months, and even weekdays are busier than others when it comes to birthdays! From the most common birth date to fun twin and triplet stats, here are some fascinating birth facts from 2024:

Month Most Births Occurred In: August (8,370)
Day Most Births Occurred on: October 18 (344 births)
Most common birthday of the week: Friday (14,274 births)
Least common birthday of the week: Sunday (8,778 births)
Total Born as Twins: 2,806
Total Born as Triplets: 53
New Year’s Eve Births (December 31, 2023): 177
New Year’s Day Births (January 1, 2024): 161
Babies sharing a birthday with Mom: 277
Babies sharing a birthday with Dad: 283

If you are looking for more records like this for the state of Virginia, the Office of Vital Records is Virginians’ one-stop shop for any number of personal records requests including birth and death certificates, and marriage and divorce records.

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Health Care Organizations Encourage the Public to Get Informed, Make an Emergency Plan During National Preparedness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 5, 2023
Media Contact: VHHA: Julian Walker, Vice President of Communications, jtwalker@vhha.com
VDH: Maria Reppas, Director of Communications, maria.reppas@vdh.virginia.gov

Health Care Organizations Encourage the Public to Get Informed, Make an Emergency Plan During National Preparedness Month

Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, Virginia Department of Health, and Regional Healthcare Coalitions Encourage the Public to Prepare for Emergency Situations Including Natural Disasters, Infectious Outbreaks, and Manmade Threats

RICHMOND, Va. – September is National Preparedness Month, an annual observance that serves as a reminder of the importance for families and organizations to develop response plans to prepare for unexpected emergencies or disaster situations.

Emergency situations that have widespread impact can take many forms: natural disasters such as major storms that cause flooding, wind damage, property destruction, or power outages; biological hazards such as infectious disease outbreaks that spread across a population causing serious illness and strain on the health care system; or manmade events including acts of violence or other catastrophes that cause mass injuries and casualties.

During National Preparedness Month, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA), the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and the Commonwealth’s four Regional Healthcare Coalitions urge Virginians to develop plans for emergency situations. A family plan means preparation and discussion ahead of catastrophic events so everyone understands how they will communicate during an emergency and how they will reconnect when danger has passed. It also involves having a family list or form with information including important phone numbers, insurance contacts and other key medical and essential information needed for emergency response, as well as on-hand emergency supplies (water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, and a portable radio to access emergency alerts and warnings, and more). Learn more about building an emergency supply kit here. Emergency plans should contemplate what supplies, information, and documents families will need during shelter-in-place events, situations warranting evacuation to a safer location, or the need to search for loved ones after an emergency. Learn more about preparing at vaemergency.gov/prepare.

“Our experiences from recent years have demonstrated the critical importance of being ready to respond when emergencies happen,” said VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “Emergency situations can occur at any time. Virginians across the Commonwealth have witnessed this in the form of major flooding in Hampton Roads and Southwest Virginia, a snowstorm that stranded motorists on the interstate in Northern Virginia, and the COVID-19 outbreak beginning in 2020. In each case, those emergencies developed quickly and presented serious health and public safety concerns for people impacted by them. When emergencies happen, hospitals are part of the critical infrastructure engaged in response efforts. Because of this, hospitals and other health care organizations partner with state and federal government agencies to conduct ongoing emergency preparation and planning efforts. Just as these organizations plan for the worst, it is vital for families and private sector firms to also have regularly updated plans that can be activated when an emergency happens.”

“I urge Virginians to take time during National Preparedness Month to assess how prepared they and their families are for coping with disasters and emergencies,” said State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton, MD. “Do you have enough water and non-perishable food on hand to last for several days if everything shut down? Do you have your mobile phone set up to receive emergency alerts? If you had to evacuate, where would you go and how would you get there? Have you made plans for your pet if you had to evacuate to a shelter? These are some of the questions we all should be thinking about year-round as disasters come in all forms and can happen anytime. VDH and its Local Health Districts provide oversight of many emergency response functions, including monitoring for disease outbreaks, insuring food and water safety, and mass casualty management.”

This year, the theme of National Preparedness Month is “Take Control in 1, 2, 3.” Its focus is on helping elderly individuals, including those from communities that are disproportionally impacted by the all-hazard events and threats, prepare for emergencies. Additional information and resources about emergency preparation and planning are available through Ready.gov and the Red Cross.

For businesses, Ready.gov recommends conducting a risk assessment to identify potential emergency scenarios as part of the development of an emergency response plan consistent with organizational objectives and focused on protecting staff, visitors, contractors and others on premises if an emergency occurs.

In Virginia, critical public and private sector organizations collaborate to conduct ongoing planning preparation activities to be ready when disaster strikes. This includes VHHA, its member hospitals and health system, and VDH. These organizations partner on the Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program (VHEMP), an initiative supported with grant funding from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). VHHA and VDH work through VHEMP to address gaps in the health care delivery system regarding the ability to respond to disaster situations. This work is facilitated by a network of four regional healthcare coalitions (the Central Virginia Healthcare Coalition, the Eastern Virginia Healthcare Coalition, the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System, and the Southwest Virginia Healthcare Coalition) that work with health care facilities and response organizations to help prepare for emergency response situations. Each regional healthcare coalition maintains a Regional Healthcare Coordination Center (RHCC) to support response activities during a disaster affecting health care facilities.

The extent of meaningful cooperation between government agencies, health systems, and regional coalitions is reflected in the effectiveness of Virginia’s emergency response apparatus. The Commonwealth has been recognized several times in recent years for its high level of preparation for public health emergencies. That includes the latest report by Trust for America’s Health, Ready or Not 2023: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism, which again places Virginia in the top tier of states for emergency readiness. The report measures state levels of preparedness to respond to a wide range of health emergencies including infectious outbreaks, natural disasters, and manmade events. Previous annual reports from Trust for America’s Health – including those compiled during the lengthy response to the COVID-19 pandemic – also ranked Virginia in the top tier of states in 2022, 2021, and 2020. Virginia has also been ranked among the top states in the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHPSI) report that evaluates state readiness to respond to public health emergencies.

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About VDH: The mission of the Virginia Department of Health is to protect the health and promote the well-being of all people in Virginia. Learn more at vdh.virginia.gov.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 111 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Virginia Reports First Presumed Case of Monkeypox

UPDATE May 27, 2022: The CDC has confirmed that the Virginia patient tested positive for monkeypox. For more information, visit VDH’s Monkeypox Surveillance and Investigation webpage, here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 26, 2022

Media Contact:
Lorrie Andrew-Spear
Lorrie.Andrew-Spear@vdh.virginia.gov
Risk Communications Manager

Virginia Reports First Presumed Case of Monkeypox

Individual is Resident in Northern Virginia Who Recently Traveled Internationally

(Richmond, VA) — Today, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced the first presumed monkeypox case in a Virginia resident. The initial testing was completed at the Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services. VDH is awaiting confirmatory test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The patient is an adult female resident of the Northern region of Virginia with recent international travel history to an African country where the disease is known to occur. She was not infectious during travel. She did not require hospitalization and is isolating at home to monitor her health. To protect patient privacy, no further information will be provided. The health department is identifying and monitoring the patient’s close contacts. No additional cases have been detected in Virginia at this time.

“Monkeypox is a very rare disease in the United States. The patient is currently isolating and does not pose a risk to the public.” said State Health Commissioner Colin M. Greene, MD, MPH. “Transmission requires close contact with someone with symptomatic monkeypox, and this virus has not shown the ability to spread rapidly in the general population. VDH is monitoring national and international trends and has notified medical providers in Virginia to watch for monkeypox cases and report them to their local health district as soon as possible. Based on the limited information currently available about the evolving multi-country outbreak, the risk to the public appears to be very low.”

Although rare, monkeypox is a potentially serious viral illness that is transmitted when someone has close contact with an infected person or animal. Person-to-person spread occurs with prolonged close contact or with direct contact with body fluids or contact with contaminated materials such as clothing or linens. Illness typically begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, and swelling of the lymph nodes. After a few days, a specific type of rash appears, often starting on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body. Symptoms generally appear seven to 14 days after exposure and, for most people, clear up within two to four weeks. Some people can have severe illness and die. As with many viral illnesses, treatment mainly involves supportive care and relief of symptoms.

If you are sick and have symptoms consistent with monkeypox, seek medical care from your healthcare provider, especially if you are in one of the following groups:

Those who traveled to central or west African countries, parts of Europe where monkeypox cases have been reported, or other areas with confirmed cases of monkeypox during the month before their symptoms began,
Those who have had contact with a person with confirmed or suspected monkeypox, or
Men who regularly have close or intimate contact with other men.

If you need to seek care, call your healthcare provider first. Let them know you are concerned about possible monkeypox infection so they can take precautions to ensure that others are not exposed.

On May 20, 2022, VDH distributed a Clinician Letter to medical professionals reminding them to report any suspected cases of monkeypox to their local health department as soon as possible and implement appropriate infection prevention precautions.

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, the World Health Organization website and the VDH website.

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