Recognizing that “many residents are frustrated,” Arlington officials on Friday urged patience with the county’s vaccine distribution, while asking the state for more doses.
The county has faced an examination of what some see as a slow deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine, despite receiving the first shipment of vaccines before Christmas.
Earlier this week, vaccines in Arlington were occurring at a rate of just over 200 per day. At this rate, it would take more than two years to administer a single dose of two-dose vaccine to all adults residing in the county.
Over the past two days, the pace has accelerated, with more than 400 doses administered each day. As of Friday morning, a total of 4,573 doses had been administered and 550 people had been completely vaccinated in Arlington.
Still, ARLnow has received a lot of emails in recent days from people saying Arlington should move faster, given the more than 3,000 coronavirus deaths a day across the country and the growing prevalence of a most contagious virus strain.
“The inability to climb at a more reasonable speed is terrible,” one person said. “People are dying.”
In a press release today, the county said it was “moving rapidly to increase access for eligible Arlingtonians.”
“This weekend, the Arlington County Public Health Division will hold two clinics to vaccinate 1,800 individuals in the Prek-12 Priority Childcare / Teachers group identified in Phase 1b,” the press release states.
But even this effort is not without controversy.
As ARLnow first reported Thursday, the county-led registration process for Arlington public school employees to enroll in the vaccines was flawed, and many did not receive the emails and links needed to register. if. Some of those who managed to register and receive a confirmation email the first time, were told it was not a confirmation of an appointment.
“You received confirmation from WordPress due to a bug in technology that allowed you to book more appointments than available,” school employees reported this afternoon in an email from Arlington’s public health division.
Some who received this initial confirmation were unable to secure a place when registration was reopened last night, we have been told.
“There were limited places available,” APS spokesman Frank Bellavia explained today. “Public Health sent an email last night to staff who did not receive an appointment to schedule one of the remaining available spaces. These remaining places had been filled this morning.
Ryan Hudson, a public health spokesman for Arlington, said the county now expects more vaccine supply and cannot say for sure when the rest of the APS employees will be vaccinated.
“We cannot give a specific date on which all APS teachers and staff will be vaccinated, as the ability to schedule appointments will depend on the increased distribution of the Virginia vaccine,” he said.
“The expansion of eligible people in Phase 1b unfortunately does not increase Arlington’s limited supply of vaccine doses,” Hudson added. “The county began establishing its distribution plan and infrastructure in 2020. Arlington is poised to expedite appointments as soon as the county receives additional doses from Virginia.”
The county health director, Dr. Reuben Varghese told the Arlington County Board earlier this week that the county was still working to establish infrastructure for mass vaccinations. Asked by ARLnow why this process did not begin earlier, County Board President Matt de Ferranti said a lot of work was done to get the first doses of vaccine.
“Freezers were ordered, [a] the website was developed and we already had a pre-existing relationship with the Virginia Hospital Center, “he said today.” Many other infrastructure measures were made, but required [for the vaccine] so far exceeds supply. Other jurisdictions in northern Virginia and DC also have similar problems. We are working to get most of the vaccine as soon as possible. We ask for as much patience as people can find. “
In this afternoon’s press release, de Ferranti defended the efforts of Varghese and county manager Mark Schwartz.
“As the situation continues to change rapidly, our county manager and director of public health are working to secure the vaccines and put them to arms,” he said. “The Council has assured them that we will provide the necessary resources to do so.”
Other local jurisdictions have also said the COVID-19 vaccine is scarce.
“Vaccine supply in the U.S. is still very limited and is expected to increase gradually over the coming months. Fairfax Health is asking for your patience during this process,” said the City of Falls Church, which uses services from the Fairfax County Department of Health. , has tweeted today.
According to Bloomberg, Virginia is at the bottom of the U.S. states when it comes to using the supply of vaccines it has on hand.
Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden has said the incoming administration plans to use FEMA and the National Guard to set up vaccination clinics across the country, while working to get more vaccines at local pharmacies.
The full county press release is shown below.
Arlington County applauds Governor Ralph Northam’s decision to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to more Virginians, and county government and health officials are making rapid progress to expand access for eligible Arlingtonians.
On Thursday, Jan. 14, Northam announced that all Virginians age 65 and older and those ages 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions will move to Phase 1b according to the community’s immunization plan.
“We are grateful that the state makes the COVID-19 vaccine more accessible to Virginians who need it and want it,” said Dr. Aaron Miller, director of public safety communications and emergency management. “At the moment, all the available doses we have have a corresponding arm so that it can enter. And we continue to support the Commonwealth’s efforts to release more vaccines. “
“The top priority of the county government is to ensure the rapid, efficient and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines,” said Matt de Ferranti, chairman of the Arlington County Board. “We know many residents are frustrated and we understand and share your concerns. Since Monday, there have been rapid changes in eligibility within the priority groups, including the addition of 65-74 year olds and 16-64 year olds with medical conditions underlying phase 1b. We also receive far fewer vaccines than the demand for Arlingtonians. We ask that you have the utmost patience as we work urgently on this critical challenge. “
This weekend, the Arlington County Public Health Division will hold two clinics to vaccinate 1,800 individuals in the priority Childcare / Teachers / PreK-12 group identified in Phase 1b, including the Arlington Public Schools (APS). People in this group who are unable to schedule an appointment for this weekend will have opportunities to schedule consultations as more vaccines become available.
The Virginia Hospital Center (HCV), which has already partnered with the county to operate a vaccination clinic for residents over the age of 75, is working to increase scheduling opportunities when more vaccine supply is available.
As Arlington County public health begins to receive guidance from the Virginia Department of Health on additional people eligible for Phase 1b, it continues to work to vaccinate the many people who have previously registered in recent days.
The expansion of eligible people in phase 1b does not increase the limited supply of doses of Arlington vaccine. The possibility of scheduling appointments will depend on the increased distribution of the Virginia vaccine. The CDC and the U.S. Department of Defense manage the national distribution of any COVID-19 vaccine. Arlington County is ready to expedite and expedite appointments as soon as the county receives additional doses from Virginia.
Meanwhile, people aged 65 to 74 and people aged 16 to 64 with a high-risk illness or disability who are at increased risk for serious COVID-19 disease may register in advance and will be notified when appointments are available. increases the distribution of vaccines
Arlington employers of front-line essential workers (as identified in Phase 1b) who want a vaccine against COVID-19 should still pre-register with the Arlington County Public Health Division.
“As the situation continues to change rapidly, our county manager and director of public health are working to secure the vaccines and put them to arms,” de Ferranti said. “The Council has assured them that we will provide the necessary resources to achieve this.”
Matt Blitz contributed to this report.