Residents in Fairfax County have a new way to sign up for vaccines this week. Eariler this spring, residents were encouraged to use Fairfax County's own vaccine registration system. Now, Fairfax County residents are welcome to start using Vaccine Finder, the statewide system that helps residents find appointments.
As of Sunday, all Virginia residents ages 16 and older are eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine. Already, almost half of adults in Virginia have received at least one dose of a vaccine from Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, according to state health officials.
In Northern Virginia, where vaccine supply has been an ongoing issue, the percentage of adults vaccinated with at least one dose is much lower.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said, "As of April 14, [Virginia Dept. of Health] data shows that the Fairfax Health District has fully vaccinated over 239,000 residents, which represents 20.8 percent of our population. While vaccine supply in Phase 1 has been a challenge, particularly for larger jurisdictions, Fairfax continues to outpace its Northern Virginia counterparts in the percentage of population fully vaccinated (Alexandria —19.7, Arlington —19.1, Loudoun —18.8, and Prince William — 15.9). In addition, approximately 36.2 of the Fairfax population has received at least one dose."
Residents who were already on the Fairfax County waitlist as of 11:59 p.m. Saturday, April 17, will be contacted for an appointment and do not need to register with the statewide system. However, those residents may, if they prefer, register with Vaccine Finder as other appointments may be available to them. More information about this is below from Storck.
Storck provided this information for Fairfax County residents:
"Starting Sunday, April 18, all individuals in the Fairfax Health District who are 16 or older will be eligible to directly schedule a vaccine appointment through VaccineFinder.org as the County moves into Phase 2 with the rest of Virginia. This is a significant change in how to make a vaccine appointment and I urge you to read the following information carefully.
With this new system, Fairfax County will no longer be the primary registration point for the COVID-19 vaccine.
VaccineFinder displays available appointments from approved vaccine providers across the County, including the Health Department, pharmacies, hospitals, and some private practices.
However, clinics managed by the Health Department and some of its partners may not be listed on that site until late April or early May. This is due to limited vaccine supply and the need for these clinics to finish vaccinating those on our Phase 1 waitlist.
Everyone who is on the County's waitlist before it closed at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, will be contacted to schedule an appointment within approximately one week from Sunday. All Phase 2 residents interested in obtaining a vaccine should utilize VaccineFinder.
Residents are encouraged to schedule an appointment on VaccineFinder with any provider based on the day, time and location that is most convenient for them. Be aware that each provider may have different processes to sign up to get an appointment. If you are on our current waitlist but get vaccinated by another provider, please remove yourself from our waitlist.
Our current registration system was necessary in Phase 1 to accommodate the state-mandated prioritization of residents. In Phase 2, we now have a larger pool of community vaccination sites that allows us to shift to this new process. This will allow greater flexibility and choice of where residents receive their vaccine.
As mentioned above, everyone who is on our waitlist before it closes at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, will be contacted to schedule an appointment within approximately one week. You will not lose your place in the queue.
That said, you should also feel free to check VaccineFinder should an appointment be available outside of the Health Department sooner.
For Those in Phase 1
As mentioned above, everyone who is on our waitlist before it closes at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, will be contacted to schedule an appointment within approximately one week. You will not lose your place in the queue.
That said, you should also feel free to check VaccineFinder should an appointment be available outside of the Health Department sooner.
If you are considered Phase 1 and wish to register after April 18, you may do so through the state registration system. The County preregistration will be retired. Following April 18, individuals in the Phase 1 group can choose to schedule appointments on VaccineFinder or can register at Vaccinate Virginia if no appointments are available. For assistance, call the State’s call center at 877-829-4682 or the Fairfax County call center at 703-324-7404."
