More than 100 private health care providers in Fairfax County are currently in the process of making COVID-19 vaccines available to the public soon, district officials told Reston Now and Tysons reporters.
This includes private practices, clinics and emergency centers.
This follows the announcement by the county late last week that this should happen in the coming weeks.
“The process of getting approved for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines requires several steps,” writes a spokesman for the county health department’s compliance assessment department.
Of these 100+ private health care providers, approximately 35 are in the process of completing the Fairfax County Health Department’s compliance assessment. The completion schedule is different for each vendor, notes a spokesman.
A “handful” of private providers have completed all steps and can now offer their patients the COVID-19 vaccine. Health Department officials declined to provide the exact number or name of the providers.
Vendors cannot select a specific COVID-19 vaccine to offer their patients as vaccine availability depends on what the county receives from the Commonwealth.
“We know many residents of our community will be excited to hear that their own health care providers may soon be offering vaccines,” wrote Fairfax County’s Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu, in the Ministry of Health’s blog post. “However, we encourage residents to be patient while more practices meet government requirements. As soon as a provider can offer a vaccine, they will notify their patients directly. “
The county also asks residents if they can get the vaccine from a private provider and have previously registered with the county health department in order to remove themselves from the waiting list.
In the past few weeks, Fairfax County has begun diversifying where residents can get their COVID-19 vaccine.
This includes retail pharmacies, including CVS, Walgreens, Safeway, and Harris Teeter. Giant is working directly with the county to get vaccinated off the waiting list. However, appointments in retail pharmacies are still rare.
In general, vaccinations are moving faster in the county than they were last month.
However, the county is still struggling to meet demand after being the only jurisdiction to reject Virginia’s appointment system. There are currently 104,000 people on the waiting list of 326,000 registered people.
So far, 267,000 people in the county have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which is roughly 23% of the county’s total population. About half of it was administered by the health department.
Dates are currently scheduled for those who signed up on January 28th or earlier.
Photo by Karen Bolt / Fairfax County Public Schools