Fairfax Health Director Answers Vaccine Questions In Town Hall

BURKE, VA — Fairfax County Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu and Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw took questions about the health department's ongoing COVID-19 vaccination efforts in a virtual town hall Monday.

Residents submitted questions ahead of time or asked questions live during the approximately one and a half hour event. Questions centered around the wait list and groups eligible for the vaccine.

At the time of the Monday town hall, Addo-Ayensu said the health department was making appointments for people who registered around 3 p.m. on Jan. 18. That marked the first day phase 1b eligibility expanded to all people 65 to 74 and those 16 to 64 with underlying conditions. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, 96,152 people remain on the wait list, or about 38 percent of the 250,628 who registered.

Due to the number of people who signed up on Jan. 18, it is taking some time to register everyone from that day. However, the health department cannot provide a number indicating a person's place on the wait list.

"We do have a lot of people who have registered through our system," said Addo-Ayensu. "One of our heaviest days was Jan. 18, and we had over 42,000 people register. The limitation is how much vaccine we get...each week, and up until this week, we were getting 13,600 [doses per week], and moving forward we're getting over 16,000."

Walkinshaw acknowledged one of the common frustrations of residents is not knowing when they will get appointments.

"The unfortunate reality, and we just want to be honest and transparent, is because of that unpredictability in terms of the supply long term, we can't make a long-term prediction as to how many weeks it would be before you get your appointment," said Walkinshaw.

During the town hall, some residents also questioned the prioritization of groups such as teachers over people 75 and older. Addo-Ayensu and Walkinshaw noted that the Fairfax Health Department must follow the prioritization groups set by the Virginia Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the health department continues to face limited doses, the supply is allocated to two groups: 50 percent of doses go to residents 65 and older and the remaining 50 percent go to essential workers and people with underlying health conditions. Addo-Ayensu noted that the health department going by people's word when they register and say they're 65 and older or have an underlying condition.

According to Addo-Ayensu, the health department is reaching the "tail end" of completing the first three essential worker groups (1 - Police, Fire, and Hazmat; 2 - Corrections and homeless shelter workers; and 3 - Childcare, PreK-12 Teachers and Staff). Going forward, the health department will work through more of the wait list for people with underlying health conditions before opening appointments to the next essential worker groups.

People who are set to receive their second doses will receive an email invitation to schedule an appointment four to seven days before the second dose is due.

"Rest assured that we're keeping track of it, and within four to seven days of your second dose, you will receive that email," said Addo-Ayensu.

The health director noted dose allocations delayed by weather last week were received by the health department Monday. That distribution also included allocations scheduled for the current week. Appointment invitations are going out this week for individuals who need second doses.

The health department is assuming it will receive the same level of doses in March and April, but Addo-Ayensu is hopeful the number of doses will be higher. She confirmed no doses are going unused by the health department.

Addressing vaccine registration concerns

Addo-Ayensu also discussed problems residents may encounter with their registrations. When registering for the vaccine, residents should receive a confirmation that they're on the wait list. An online registration checker is available to confirm an individual is registered.

According to Addo-Ayensu, one main reason a registration may not show up in the checker involves errors such as an errant space in a name or a misspelled email address. She added that the health department identified about 700 people who registered but the system didn't pick up during a surge in registrations.

If a registration is not showing up, residents should call the Fairfax County COVID-19 vaccine hotline at 703-324-7404. Addo-Ayensu said an IT team is working on cleaning up the data, which results in individuals being placed back in the queue.

"The system knows what time people registered, and as we find these errors and make the corrections, we place them right back into the queue where they were at that time," said Addo-Ayensu.

Addo-Ayensu said residents should continue using the Fairfax County vaccine registration rather than the statewide vaccine registration. If someone registers with the state, that information gets sent to Fairfax County Health Department to be added to the health department's wait list. If an individual is not yet eligible in phase 1a or 1b, they will be added to the queue once eligibility expands.

Some residents called during the town hall with concerns about their individual registrations. One resident said she registered on Jan. 11 and received a confirmation but did not get an invitation to schedule an appointment yet. She noted that people who registered after her are receiving their shot. Addo-Ayensu said she was willing to look into that situation with communication via the supervisor's office.

"If for some reason you know someone who registered after you but you haven't been called, then possibly you could be one of those people I mentioned that we found some issues with the registration," said Addo-Ayensu. "However, please rest assure that as we identify these issues, we are making corrections."

Braddock District residents can seek help with vaccine registration concerns by reaching Walkinshaw's office by email at braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov or by phone during office hours at 703-425-9300.

A full recording of the virtual town hall is available below or on YouTube.

Questions about registration can be directed to the Fairfax County COVID-19 vaccine hotline at 703-324-7404. Residents can also see responses to commonly-asked vaccine questions on the health department's blog.