Where To Get Vaccine In Mount Vernon Area: Week Of May 9

MOUNT VERNON, VA — With more than half of Fairfax County residents having at least their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, appointments continue to be available this week around the Mount Vernon area.

Fairfax County and the rest of Virginia have made everyone 16 and older eligible for the vaccine. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for use in people 18 and older, and the Pfizer vaccine is approved for use in people 16 and older.

As of Tuesday, 587,851 people in Fairfax County have at least one dose, or 51.2 percent of the population. There are 411,078 people fully vaccinated, or 35.8 percent of the population.

Residents should continue to look for updates on approval for the 12 to 15 age group. The FDA granted emergency use authorization to the Pfizer vaccine for the age group, but approval is needed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The committee is meeting Wednesday.

During the week of May 3 to 9, Fairfax County received 28,134 first and second doses to be administered by the health department clinics and private providers. Separate allocations go to the federally qualified health center Neighborhood Health and pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program.

With the vaccines becoming widely available to people 16 and older, the focus turns to people hesitant to get the vaccine. Northern Virginia's health districts have teamed up for a new campaign called Stay Well NoVa with a focus on people who are hesitant but may be more open to getting vaccinated after seeing others do so.

Health experts see vaccines as the key to achieving herd immunity, which will make it more difficult for the virus to spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't set a specific percentage for achieving population immunity but says more broadly "population immunity means that enough people in a community are protected from getting a disease because they've already had the disease or they've been vaccinated."

In Fairfax, residents can now book health department clinic appointments directly through the Vaccine Administration Management System. Other providers can be found by searching for your ZIP code at www.vaccines.gov. Those needing help can contact the call center at 703-324-7404.

Where To Get the Vaccine Around Mount Vernon Area

Below are some vaccination providers available from May 11 to 17 and beyond. Availability may change after the publication of this story.

• Fairfax County Health Department clinics, Tysons Community Vaccination Center, and George Mason University clinic: register for VAMS account to see appointment availability. Walk-ins also accepted at the Tysons Community Vaccination Center (former Lord & Taylor store at 7950 Tysons Corner Center) Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Inova Health System: Register for an Inova MyChart account to schedule an appointment.
• May 12-13, 15, Moderna vaccine provided by CVS Pharmacy inside Target, 6600 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306
• May 15, Moderna vaccine provided by CVS Pharmacy, 3117 Lockheed Boulevard, Alexandria, VA 22306
• May 11-13, vaccine provided by Giant Pharmacy, 6800 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306
• May 13-29, vaccine provided by Safeway Pharmacy, 7900 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria, VA 22308
• May 12-29, vaccine provided by Safeway Pharmacy, 8646 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22309
• May 12-14, Johnson & Johnson vaccine provided by Costco Pharmacy, 7940 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306
• Walmart: Sign into Walmart account to see appointments, 7910 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306
• Walgreens: Sign into Walgreens account to see appointments, 7629 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306, 7968 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria, VA 22308, 6717 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306

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