Vaccine Rescheduling To Start For Fairfax Schools Employees

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — After Inova announced the cancellation of first vaccine dose appointments starting on Jan. 26, Fairfax County Public Schools says appointments for its employees are starting to be rescheduled.

FCPS said in a message to employees that it is working with the Fairfax County Health Department and Inova to reschedule appointments. That starts with several thousand appointments opening Thursday, Jan. 28 to Sunday, Jan. 31.

Some FCPS employees will receive an email invitation from the Fairfax County Health Department to schedule appointments. Employees will register through that health department link.

FCPS asked for patience as limited vaccine continues to present challenges.

"If you do not get an appointment this week, please know that as vaccine supply allows, more appointments will be opened," reads the message to staff. "This includes the opportunity for staff members who have not yet been able to schedule an appointment."

Vaccination appointments started on Jan. 16 for some employees. FCPS employees were asked to schedule appointments for their group's designated week.

That progress paused on Jan. 26 when Inova canceled first dose appointments until further notice. Inova cited limited supply amid a change to the state's change to allocations. The health system is prioritizing individuals who need their second vaccine dose.

Last week, the Virginia Department of Health shifted from giving doses to any vaccinator that requested them to a population-based allocation method as it faced more requests for doses than doses available. As a whole, Virginia receives about 105,000 doses per week from the federal government. On Wednesday, Gov. Ralph Northam said the Biden administration has committed to a 16 percent increase in allocations to states, beginning with doses Virginia will order on Thursday.

As of Thursday, 74,228 vaccine doses have been administered in Fairfax County, and 8,711 are fully vaccinated, according to VDH. To date, 184,325 doses have been distributed to Fairfax County.