Loudoun County Officials Expect Delay In Completing Vaccinations

ASHBURN, VA — When Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam expanded the group of residents statewide eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccines, Loudoun County health officials knew there would be a disparity between the doses they had to offer and the number of people seeking them.

As of Tuesday, local officials said they have received more than 50,000 requests for appointments to be vaccinated. While Northam’s recent announcement that Virginia would enter Phase 1b of vaccine distribution opened the door for more people to receive shots, health experts in Loudoun County admit they simply can’t accommodate everyone. At least not yet.

The reason? County officials simply aren't receiving enough of the vaccines to keep up with the demand.

“The Health Department receives weekly shipments of vaccine. Right now, it is unclear how much vaccine we will receive from week to week,” Loudoun County Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “Health districts throughout Virginia are impacted by this unexpected slowdown in vaccine shipments, so we must all be patient as we continue to work through the backlog of requests for vaccination appointments.”

In announcing the beginning of Phase 1b, Northam urged hospitals to get vaccinations out within 24 hours of receiving them. A Loudoun County spokesman told Patch last week that while he doesn’t know specifically how many the number of those seeking vaccines and the doses available stack up, he estimated the difference between the two to be in the thousands.

Because of the disparity, local health officials said Tuesday they expect there to be a delay in the scheduling of new appointments – even for those who are eligible under Phase 1a and 1b. Last week, the county announced they would begin a screening process for those who met the criteria to be eligible under Phase 1b, but the delay impacts those who have signed up for the screening, officials said.

Officials estimate vaccinations of those in Phase 1b to take eight weeks or more to complete in order to get residents both doses.

Health officials said Tuesday that those who have already signed up for the screening process do not need to contact the county health department. While the survey does not provide a confirmation email alerting residents to the fact that they have successfully registered, submitting information online is the first step in obtaining an appointment, officials said.