COVID-19 Vaccinations In Fairfax City: Need To Know

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Thanks to an influx of vaccine doses from the federal government, Gov. Ralph Northam announced last Thursday that all Virginians 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting Sunday, April 18, which is ahead of the May 1 goal President Joe Biden set for the country.

On Monday, the Fairfax County Health Department opened its COVID-19 registrations to certain essential workers Phase 1c.

Other groups that will be eligible later in phase 1c are workers in finance; information technology and communication; media; legal services; public safety (engineers); and other public health workers). The health department expects to open registration to remaining phase 1c groups later this week and start phase 2 (all residents 16 and up) by April 18.

Virginia Health Department reported Monday that 4,224,890 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the state, and 32.8 percent of the population has received at least one dose.

The state is averaging 77,879 doses administered per day. Local health departments lead the state with 1,277,501 total doses given, followed by pharmacies with 1,003,988 total doses, hospitals with 860,472 medical practices with 626,997, and other community health providers with 455,932.

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

As of Monday, 12,299 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the City of Fairfax, with 7,994 people receiving one dose and 4,543 being fully vaccinated.

Fairfax County leads the state with 530,994, vaccine doses administered, according to Virginia Department of Health data. There are 355,871 people with at least one dose and 186,701 fully vaccinated. The age group with the highest vaccination rate includes people in their 70s. There are 76,502 people in this age group with at least one dose.

Where To Get The Vaccine In The Fairfax City Area

The Fairfax County Health Department is vaccinating people on its preregistration wait list at select locations around the county. People who receive an invitation to schedule an appointment will be able to choose what day, time, and location to receive their vaccine. Partners helping administer the vaccine to people on the health department's wait list include Inova, George Mason University, Trusted Doctors, MyDr.'s Pharmacy, and Giant. Giant has at least eight locations offered as an option to people scheduling through the health department.

Fairfax County is currently registering individuals in Phase 1a, Phase 1b, and Phase 1c.

People in Phase 1a and 1b groups include:

• Health Care Personnel
• Long-Term Care Facility Residents and Staff
• Public Safety Workers
• Corrections and Homeless Shelter Workers
• Childcare/PreK-12 Teachers and Staff
• People 65 and Older
• People Living In Correctional Facilities and Homeless Shelters
• People 16-64 With A High-Risk Medical Condition Or Disablity
• Frontline Essential Workers.
• Food and Agriculture Workers (Including Veterinarians)
• Manufacturing
• Grocery Store Workers
• Public Transit Workers
• Mail Carriers (USPS and Private)
• Officials needed for continuity of government
• Clergy/Faith Leaders
• Janitorial/Cleaning Staff

With registration now open in Phase 1c, the following essential workers are eligible to register:

• Energy
• Water, Wastewaater, and Waste Removal Workers (Including Recycling Removal Workers)
• Housing and Construction
• Food Service
• Transportation and Logistics
• Institutions of Higher Education Faculty and Staff

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As more vaccine becomes available, Fairfax will offer registration opportunities for other county residents.

How To Register For The Vaccine

Virginia launched a statewide vaccine system and hotline, but Fairfax is the only health district operating its own system. Residents should continue using the local health department's preregistration form in order to register to receive the vaccine.

Fairfax County also recently launched a vaccine dashboard, which allows people who have registered to monitor where they are on the vaccine wait list. More information on the vaccine dashboard is available at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/novel-coronavirus/vaccine/data.

According to the dashboard, 37,369 people are on the wait list as of April 5. In all, 383,951 people have registered for the vaccine in the Fairfax Health District, which includes Fairfax County, towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton, and cities of Falls Church and Fairfax. As of Monday, the county was making appointments for people who registered on March 27.

Vaccine Supplies In Fairfax County

For the week of March 29-April 4, Fairfax County received 12,870 vaccine doses from the Virginia Health Department. Fairfax County Health Department administered 25,847 first doses of the vaccine and the county received 465,853 doses from the state health department.

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