It will take months before everyone eligible can get a COVID vaccine

An Inova vaccination clinic for school employees. [FCPS]

As the demand for COVID-19 vaccinations still greatly exceeds the supply, state and local officials are scrambling to manage the vaccination process.  

“It will take months to vaccinate all of those who are eligible and currently registered to get a vaccine appointment,” the Fairfax County Health Department stated Jan. 28.

The  Health Department has so far vaccinated approximately 35,200 people since late December. The pace of vaccinations is not expected to increase until March.

Following new state guidelines, the Fairfax Health District will use half of its vaccine supply each week for people age 65 and older. 

The rest will be allocated for people eligible in other categories, including people age 16-64 with a high-risk medical condition, frontline essential workers (teachers, childcare staff, and public safety employees), and people living in correctional facilities and homeless shelters. 

Related story: Health officials urge patience in waiting for COVID vaccinations

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) expects to receive 105,000 COVID doses each week and will distribute them on a per-capita basis to localities. The Fairfax Health District currently receives 13,600 doses per week. 

The federal government has indicated the supply of vaccine to states might soon increase by 16 percent, but that hasn’t happened yet. 

Fairfax County allocates vaccine doses to health department clinics, health system partners, safety net partners, and occupational health providers who are vaccinating essential frontline workers.

Inova Health System is resuming vaccinations of K-12 staff and childcare providers on a limited basis after canceling all appointments earlier this week.   

“I understand your frustration,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said during a Jan. 27 briefing. When asked about the problems with the vaccine rollout out, he said “the criticism is fair. . . . We’re doing everything we can to get shots into arms.”

Virginia has moved up from 50th place to 27th place since Jan. 28 on Becker’s Hospital Review’s ranking of states on the percentage of COVID vaccinations administered. As of Jan. 28, Virginia distributed 1,179,550 doses, and 629,019 were administered, for a rate of 53.33 percent. 

Related story: Inova cancels COVID vaccination appointments

Northam said the state is working with hospitals and health districts to make sure they use their doses. “There is no excuse for first doses sitting there unused,” he said. 

“All Americans who want a shot will be able to get one by the end of this summer,” he said. 

Two weeks ago Virginia set an initial goal of administering 25,000 shots a day. Now, the state is averaging over 26,000 a day. The next goal is 50,000 a day. 

“By shifting inventory around, we will be able to increase shots this week by about 20 percent. That’s about 40,000 more shots by this Sunday on top of the 175,000 already planned,” Northam said. 

“We absolutely know where the doses are” and are working to administer the 400,000 to 500,000 doses not yet used, said Virginia’s vaccine coordinator Dr. Danny Avula. The largest chunk of those vaccines are reserved for second doses, and many of the other doses have been administered but not yet recorded. “We’re catching up and closing that gap,” he said. 

To promote equity, every clinician is being asked to collect data on race and ethnicity. 

Virginia is launching a new vaccine dashboard that includes more information and promotes clarity and transparency. It will indicate how many doses Virginia has received, where they have been delivered, and where they are sitting. It will also show how many people have received their first shot; how many received a second shot; and how much of the state population has been vaccinated. 

The VDH is also setting up a single statewide system for registering for a vaccine and is greatly expanding the size of its call center.

Mass vaccination clinics are being planned for about 40 locations statewide staffed by the National Guard, along with healthcare staff and volunteers.