UPS and FedEx are shipping millions of doses of the Pfizer + BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine across the United States this week, including several hundred thousand doses coming to Virginia.
Two more vaccines, from Moderna and from AstraZeneca, may not be far behind.
While this is a major step toward a return to “normalcy” and our pre-pandemic lives, most Alexandria residents are going to have to be patient when it comes to actually getting vaccinated.
And that means that for many residents, the mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing will have to continue for several more months. For most people, it will be several more months before they can walk into a local pharmacy and request a vaccine.
When and where you get vaccinated depends on your individual job and health situation, but most people will get their shots at a hospital, doctor's office or a health clinic equipped to handle the cold storage requirements for these vaccines.
Who Gets Vaccinated First — and Where
Health-care workers and residents who are in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are the highest priority and will be vaccinated first. The Virginia Department of Health is expecting to receive about 480,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by the end of December and those will be used on this group.
These people will most likely receive the vaccine through their workplaces or residences and they will need a second dose in early 2021.
In early 2021, when more vaccine doses are available, people who are in essential and critical industries (including first responders) will receive vaccinations — some through their workplace, and others through doctors offices and local hospitals. More information for this set of people will be available in the coming weeks.
Then, people who have underlying medical conditions that put them at high risk of complications from COVID-19, and people ages 65 or older, will be vaccinated. Those vaccines will be available at local hospitals and health care centers.
If you’re 30 years old, not an essential worker and you’re healthy, you should expect to wait until at least the spring before receiving the vaccine.
In the spring, more vaccine doses will be available at hospitals and other places that are equipped to handle the vaccine’s cold storage requirements, and some of those may go to residents who are of "lower" priority (at less risk of developing complications or dying from COVID-19), according to decisions by the CDC.
According to local health officials, vaccine doses that are purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be given to Americans free of charge. Some vaccination providers will be able to charge a $20 administrative fee, but that may be waived in some cases.
Until then...
While a vaccine is coming, the number of coronavirus cases in Virginia and in the Northern Virginia region are increasing exponentially. As pandemic fatigue and cold winter weather set in, more people may be catching COVID-19 from social events, eating indoors and leisure travel, according to the Alexandria Health Department.
Gov. Ralph Northam has set up a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. daily, has limited social gatherings to 10 people or fewer and has mandated wearing masks both indoors and outdoors to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Virginia.
As some school districts are making plans to return students to school, including Alexandria and Fairfax County, other school districts are sending students back home for virtual learning, including Loudoun County.
