NoVA Leaders Call For Vaccine Doses, Mass Vaccination Site
NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Leaders are pushing for more COVID-19 vaccine doses and a mass vaccination site in Northern Virginia.
Local health districts in Northern Virginia have seen more people requesting appointments than available doses. For instance, the Fairfax Health District reports over 156,000 residents have preregistered and are eligible in phases 1a and 1b. The health department anticipates it could take months to get appointments for everyone on the wait list if vaccine supply doesn't increase. The Virginia Department of Health has also changed to a population-based allocation to health districts, which the Fairfax County Health Department says could keep the pace of incoming doses the same until March.
Virginia as a whole ranks low among U.S. states for vaccines administered as a percentage of vaccines distributed, according to Becker's Hospital Review. As of Tuesday, it was 49th with 482,973 doses administered of the 1,069,725 doses distributed, or 45.15 percent.
But Northern Virginia leaders say the region has the capability to ramp up vaccinations if more doses are provided. A letter from the Northern Virginia Regional Commission called on Gov. Ralph Northam for a streamlined process to get doses to Northern Virginia, as well as more transparency about distribution. The letter states that the Fairfax Health District alone could give 30,000 vaccinations per week. When including the Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun and Prince William Health Districts, the region as whole would be capable of giving 65,000 to 70,000 doses per week, the leaders say.
"We need a streamlined process to release doses directly to NOVA, provide the ability to detail who has doses and finally allow our Region priority as we are ready and able to vaccinate significant numbers now," the letter states. "Simply put the problem is a sufficient, predictable, and equitable supply of vaccine."
Congressional leaders representing Northern Virginia touted the region's capacity for vaccinations in a call for a mass vaccination site. Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) wrote to FEMA requesting a site in Northern Virginia, pointing out the Biden administration's proposal for 100 community mass vaccination sites across the U.S.
Here is an excerpt from the letter:
Northern Virginia already has the capacity. Our localities are eager and ready, and they have the capability to vaccinate thousands more people than they currently have vaccine supply for. For example, Arlington County is receiving roughly 2,700 doses per week but has the capacity to do at least 1,000 per day. Staffing is not the limiting factor, supply is.
Northern Virginia also has the demand. The city of Alexandria, comprising 160,000 people, has a vaccine waiting list of over 25,000, and neighboring Fairfax County has a vaccine waiting list of over 100,000 people. According to survey data gathered through Facebook by Carnegie Mellon University’s Delphi Lab, Northern Virginia also has the highest demand for vaccines in the country. Arlington County is the jurisdiction with the highest percent of individuals willing to be vaccinated across the country, at 92%, followed closely by its neighboring jurisdictions in Northern Virginia.
For doses administered so far, VDH data shows Fairfax County leads the state with 68,864 doses given and 7,597 people fully vaccinated. Loudoun and Prince William counties are also among the leaders in the state along with Henrico, Virginia Beach and Chesterfield.
This article originally appeared on the Vienna Patch
