70s Age Group Leads Vaccinations In Fairfax County: New Data

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — People in their 70s lead age groups in Fairfax County for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine at the start of March, according to new data.

The Virginia Department of Health recently added vaccine demographics data, showing vaccine doses given by age group and racial or ethnic group. But while age data is available for all vaccine doses, race and ethnicity data is missing for 467,850 people with at least one dose statewide.

Among age groups in Fairfax County, people in their 70s account for 31,556 people with at least one dose. The 60s age group follows with 25,580 people with at least one dose. The 70s age group also has the most fully vaccinated individuals — 16,925.

On a population basis, the 80 and up age group has the most vaccines per 100,000 people. The rate for this age group is 53,589 per 100,000 people for first doses and 38,864 per 100,000 for fully vaccinated people. The 70s age group is second with a rate of 44,319 per 100,000 people for first doses and 23,770 per 100,000 for fully vaccinated people.

People 75 and older were initially eligible in phase 1b starting Jan. 11 before eligibility expanded on Jan. 18 to cover anyone 65 and up and 16 to 64 with an underlying health condition or disability. Roughly half of weekly doses in the local health department are set aside for people 65 and older, while the other half is for people with underlying conditions and essential worker groups in phase 1b.

Here is the age group breakdown so far for first doses and second doses in Fairfax County:

• 0-9: 0 doses
• 10-19: 1,224 first doses, 577 fully vaccinated
• 20-29: 12,079 first doses, 7,887 fully vaccinated
• 30-39: 15,058 first doses, 10,334 fully vaccinated
• 40-49: 17,263 first doses, 11,557 fully vaccinated
• 50-59: 18,840 first doses, 12,333 fully vaccinated
• 60-69: 25,580 first doses, 10,051 fully vaccinated
• 70-79: 31,556 first doses, 16,925 fully vaccinated
• 80 and up: 19,203 first doses, 13,862 fully vaccinated

As for the race and ethnicity category, data is missing for 46,941 people with the first dose and 29,335 fully vaccinated people in Fairfax County. The rate per 100,000 is the highest for the Native American population: 18,563 first doses per 100,000 people and 9,499 fully vaccinated per 100,000 people. The rate is the lowest for Black residents: 4,212 first doses per 100,000 and 2,251 fully vaccinated per 100,000 people.

Here is the racial and ethnic group breakdown of vaccinations:

• Asian or Pacific Islander: 11,433 first doses, 6,671 fully vaccinated
• Black: 5,053 first doses, 2,701 fully vaccinated
• Latino: 12,333 first doses, 7,109 fully vaccinated
• Native American: 385 first doses, 197 fully vaccinated
• White: 49,133 first doses, 28,263 fully vaccinated
• Other race: 15,525 first doses, 9,250 fully vaccinated
• Not reported: 46,941 first doses, 29,335 fully vaccinated

As of 11 a.m. Monday, the Fairfax County Health Department had a wait list of 94,667, or about 35 percent of the 267,418 who have registered. It continues to make appointments for people who registered on Jan. 18, the highest registration day with over 44,000 registrations. The next highest registration day was Jan. 19 with over 17,000.

The health department continues to work with limited doses amid a wait list. Last week, the Fairfax County Health Department received 16,380 first doses and administered 18,843 first doses.

If you haven't registered for the vaccine, use the Fairfax County Health Department's registration form to get on the wait list. People who need help with registration, need to register in another language, or who do not have internet access or technology can contact the call center at 703-324-7404.