People in group 1b – 65+ and those with health risks – can schedule a COVID vaccine on Monday

Eligible people will be able to sign up for a vaccination here or call 703-324-7404. 

If you complete the online form, you will be contacted to schedule an appointment; you will not need to call. The form will be updated soon to allow eligible residents to schedule a time themselves. 

The Health Department is vaccinating people at five locations Tuesdays through Saturdays. Residents will be notified where to go when they schedule an appointment. 

People who receive a COVID vaccine from the Health Department will get an email alerting them when it’s time to schedule an appointment for their second dose. 

Vaccinations starting Monday will cover people in group 1b includes people age 75 and over, people age 16-64 who have a medical condition or disability that puts them at risk of severe illness if they contract COVID, certain essential workers, and school employees. 

Related story: People age 75 and older can start making COVID vaccination appointments on Jan. 11

These people in 1b are eligible to receive a vaccination through Inova: law enforcement officers, corrections officers, firefighters, and hazmat workers. 

The Health Department is also working with Inova to vaccinate frontline essential workers and 40,000 public and private school teachers and other staff in group 1b. 

It will take a long time to get vaccines to everyone in group 1b, said Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay in his newsletter to the community. “Vaccine supply is limited and our ability to vaccinate is dependent on the amount of supply we are provided from the state.”  

About 168,000 people in the Fairfax Health District are in group 1b, but the entire state of Virginia only receives about 110,000 doses of vaccine a week.

As of 5 a.m. on Jan. 14, the Health Department had vaccinated 15,980 people in group 1a. That doesn’t include vaccinations administered by Inova Health System or at long-term care facilities. 

Since Monday, Jan. 11, when the Health Department began registering people age 75 and older for vaccinations, more than 31,000 residents had scheduled an appointment.

People should not schedule an appointment for a vaccine with Inova unless they have been instructed to do so by their local health district, public safety jurisdiction, or school district. Appointments are required.

After being vaccinated, the Health Department says people should still wear masks and practice social distancing and frequent hand washing. 

People who have already been diagnosed with COVID-19 should still get a vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, because reinfection is possible although it is rare. People who were treated for COVID-19 symptoms with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, however, should wait 90 days before getting a COVID-19 vaccine. 

“We won’t know how long immunity produced by a vaccination lasts until we have more data on how well the vaccines work,” the CDC says.