Arlington COVID-19 Update: Where To Get The Vaccine

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington was one of five Northern Virginia localities who wrote to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam Friday requesting more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Arlington Public Health reported having more than 28,000 people waiting to schedule a vaccination appointment. The county is currently receiving a maximum of 8,000 doses per weeks, but it could scale up to deliver 14,000 doses per week.

As of Sunday, the number of people in Virginia to receive the COVID-19 vaccine surpassed the 2 million mark, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The state is averaging 49,912 doses administered per day. Local health departments lead the state with 650,504 total doses given, followed by hospitals with 464,050 total doses, medical practices with 302,981, other community health providers with 98,643 and pharmacies with 176,028

Arlington County officials are working hard to deliver coronavirus vaccines to as many residents as possible, but supply remains extremely limited.

As of Monday, Arlington County administered 66,768 vaccine doses, according to Virginia Department of Health data. There are 44,485 people with at least one dose and 24,656 fully vaccinated.

For the week ending March 20, Arlington County received 31,815 first doses of the vaccine, with 30,849 being administered. Of the 17,110 second doses the county received, 16,414 doses have been administered.

Where To Get The Vaccine In Arlington

Arlington County recently partnered with the Arlington Free Clinic to vaccinate eligible residents in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Under the partnership agreement, the county's Public Health Division will provide a limited portion of its weekly vaccine allocation to the Arlington Free Clinic to increase vaccine access to people who are uninsured or underinsured.

Vaccines will be allocated to Arlington residents who meet the free clinic's criteria and who are already eligible to receive the vaccine based on Virginia Department of Health priority guidelines. All vaccines at the Arlington Free Clinic will be by appointment only.

Last week, Arlington rolled out a partnership with Neighborhood Health (FQHC) to offer vaccinations to neighborhoods in the county reporting the highest percentages of COVID-19 cases and the lowest levels of vaccinated individuals.

"We are conducting on the ground sign ups and pre-registration with our social safety net and community-based partners and have already pre-register a list of almost a thousand individuals. We are ready to immediately schedule these individuals given more vaccine supply," according to the letter to Northam signed by Arlington County Board Chairman Matthew de Ferranti.

How To Register For The Vaccine

Arlington residents who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination have more than one option available to them for scheduling an appointment.

Residents can preregister at the Vaccinate Virginia website, or at 1-800-VAX-in-VA. Preregistration allows the county to provide notification to eligible individuals to make vaccination appointments as supply becomes available.

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While a number of pharmacies have started offering appointments in the area as well, Cara O'Donnell, a spokeswoman for Arlington County Public Health, said that program is a part of a federal effort and not associated with the county's vaccination program. She recommended eligible residents preregister with the county and then use the VacinneFinder.org to look for other available appointments.

Currently, Arlington is vaccinating people in the Phase 1b priority group, which includes a wide range of residents: people 65 and older, people 16 to 64 with an underlying health condition or disability, certain essential worker groups, and people living in correctional facilities, homeless shelters or migrant labor camps.

People in Phase 1a and 1b include:

• Health Care Personnel
• Long-Term Care Facility Residents and Staff
• Public Safety Workers*
• Corrections and Homeless Shelter Workers/Residents*
• Childcare/PreK-12 Teachers and Staff*
• People 65 and Older
• People 16-64 With A High-Risk Medical Condition Or Disablity
• Frontline Essential Workers*
• Food And Agriculture Workers (Including Veterinarians)*
• Grocery Store Employees*
• Public Transit Personnel*
• Mail Carriers*
• Continuity of Government Employees*
• Clergy And Faith Leaders*
• Janitorial And Custodial Staff*

* Pre-register via your employer

More information on Arlington County COVID-19 Case Data is available online

Vaccine Demographics In Arlington County

As of Monday, the 60-69 age group in Arlington has received 8,481 vaccinations, which is more than any of other age group. The next closest is the 70-79 age group, with 8,375 vaccinations. More women have been vaccinated (25,854) than man men (18,498) in Arlington.

For more information on coronavirus vaccines in Virginia, see the Virginia Patch COVID-19 vaccination page and link to it: https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/topics/virginia-covid-19-vaccine-information-hub