Days after Inova Health System was forced to cancel many first-dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Northern Virginia because of a lack of supply, a limited amount of vaccine has been secured and new appointments are opening up.
Inova said the limited vaccines will be provided to public and private school teachers and staff, as well as some child care providers throughout Fairfax County.
In a message to staff Wednesday evening, Fairfax County Public Schools said “several thousand” appointments are being made available starting Thursday and continuing through Sunday.
In order to get one, you have to wait to get an email from the Fairfax County Health Department inviting you to register through a health department link.
If you don’t receive an email allowing you to reschedule this week, the school system said “as vaccine supply allows, more appointments will be opened.”
“We know this will not completely alleviate the continued challenges of vaccine availability. The situation remains very fluid, not just in Fairfax County but across the Commonwealth and the nation. We continue to ask for your patience,” Fairfax County Public Schools said.
In an update on its website, Inova said appointments scheduled this weekend for people to get their second dose of vaccine will go forward as planned.
Overall, Virginia is in Phase 1b group of its vaccine rollout program, which also includes police officers, teachers and grocery store workers, among others. However local health departments are prioritizing certain groups for vaccines.
Below is a chart from the Fairfax County Health Department showing the priority groups for Phase 1b:
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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.