In the midst of shifts in Virginia’s COVID-19 policies, Dr. Melissa A. Viray is looking to continue the evolution and expansion of Richmond and Henrico County’s public health response as the new acting director of the Richmond and Henrico health districts.

Having served since 2017 as the districts’ deputy director, Dr. Viray is not in unfamiliar territory. She had taken on the lead role last year while former director Dr. Danny T.K. Avula served as statewide vaccine coordinator under former Gov. Ralph S. Northam.

With Dr. Avula now chosen by Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin to head the state Department of Social Services, Dr. Viray is again taking the reins as the search for a permanent director is underway by the state Health Department and the two local offices during a time of change and refocusing.

Dr. Viray is overseeing a shift in Richmond and Henrico health district operations from large-scale COVID-19 testing and vaccinations events to smaller mobile opportunities. She said the shift is a way to better cater the pandemic response to the needs, demands and lives of the public.

Dr. Viray also takes the helm as the health districts refocus efforts to address the root causes of health inequity and the social determinants underlying community health issues, from gun violence to opioid overdoses and infant mortality. These issues have become even more important since the pandemic, but were left under-addressed as health officials focused largely on the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Viray said the health districts want to rectify that now as they try to balance handling long-standing health issues “alongside helping our community navigate COVID.”

“One of the challenges that I think our districts have faced all throughout this time is that as COVID has evolved, we’ve had to evolve alongside it,” Dr. Viray said. “I don’t know that we’re adapting yet because I don’t think this virus is done yet. So we just have to evolve right alongside it.”

Dr. Viray believes the virus eventually will become endemic and a part of everyday life, but she said that point has not yet been reached locally, statewide or globally. Still, she believes it is paramount for the community to acclimate to a future with the virus.

As a result of COVID-19’s ongoing presence, Dr. Viray also expects that safety guidelines will need to be reinstated and relaxed as variants of the virus emerge, spread and wane. And while she couldn’t predict the possibility of another surge, Dr. Viray stressed the importance of following best practices to avoid infection and readying the community for these changes regardless of what comes next.

“It’s still going to be a little bit of an evolution over time because we don’t know exactly what’s going to come down the pipeline,” Dr. Viray said. “That’s the kind of challenge that we’re looking at in terms of helping our communities to face what it looks like to take this next step forward where it’s not going to be something we get rid of.”

On the first day of his administration in January, Gov. Youngkin signed an executive order banning mask mandates in public schools, which had been put in place by former Gov. Northam, a physician. The order was later codified by the General Assembly by a law requiring Virginia to follow guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which still recommends masks in schools.

But Gov. Youngkin has said that parents “have a fundamental right to make decisions for their children,” and ordered the mandate to be dropped. His order, however, was met by public outcry and several lawsuits filed around the state by parents who called it unconstitutional and said he was putting at risk the health and safety of their children and teachers.

In bolstering the new governor’s position, the General Assembly in turn passed a bill in February ending mask mandates in Virginia public schools. Gov. Youngkin signed the bill and included an emergency amendment making the ban effective March 1.

Another amendment approved by the legislature clarifies that the governor would retain emergency powers to reinstate a mask mandate if needed. Republican lawmakers also proposed bills during the session that would prohibit state government from requiring COVID-19 vaccines or “discriminating against any citizen based on their vaccine status.” While these bills failed to be approved, Gov. Youngkin continues to state that vaccination against COVID-19 should be encouraged, not mandated.

The possibility of the Richmond and Henrico health districts recommending or implementing a COVID-19 policy that would go against the state administration seemed far-fetched to Dr. Viray, who served as the deputy state epidemiologist in Hawaii before coming to Richmond. She also previously worked as an epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC.

She cited the close collaboration between the local health districts and the state Health Department and “commonalities” in their approach to health in general as factors that would supersede any other directives or changes that come from state authorities.

Ultimately, Dr. Viray sees the health districts as an entity that seeks to provide “the best science and recommendations so that folks can make the best decisions going forward.”

“The mission I have for Richmond and Henrico is not different from the mission we had when Danny Avula was at the helm,” she said. “There are a lot of things that we need to move forward, and I think those are the things that I’m looking to move forward in the near term.

“When we see ultimately who the new director is, I’m hoping that we will find that they are similarly aligned.”