The shortage of COVID-19 vaccine supply has forced Inova Health System to cancel first-dose appointments for people in Northern Virginia’s Group 1B from Tuesday, a group that includes employees of Fairfax County Public Schools.
The news comes as elected leaders are directly appealing to the governor for more doses.
In Inova’s large vaccination clinic on its main campus, he has given as many as 3,000 shots a day, including to thousands of FCPS employees since January 15th.
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“We understand and share the frustration this news brings to our patients. When we receive more inventory, we will first give priority to patients who have scheduled an appointment, and then focus on opening further appointments for in. eligible upcoming groups, “Inova said on its website. .
People who have already received their first dose will still receive their appointments for their second dose, but Inova said the supply of vaccines has now been greatly reduced.
Meanwhile, families in Northern Virginia like Maryanne King and her parents know all too well the dangers of the coronavirus. When the Springfield family became infected last fall, King’s father was nearly dead.
“My dad was a step away from a fan. We were outside ourselves, ”King said.
All three are eligible for the vaccine: King due to a serious medical condition, her parents due to their age.
After days and hours of phone calls, she finally got vaccination appointments at a small clinic, but only for her parents.
“She said, ‘We’re only 65 and older and we do not know when we can still do your group,’ ‘King recalls. “I broke. It was like a knife to the heart. I hung up the phone and looked at Mom and said, ‘What am I going to do?’ ‘
I broke. It was like a knife to the heart. I hung up the phone and looked at Mom and said, ‘What am I going to do?’
Maryanne King, when she learned that she would not be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine
It’s an experience that unfolds in different ways across Northern Virginia.
Health departments learned late last week that the nationwide shortage of vaccines means the allocation to the state is now being dramatically reduced.
“We simply do not have enough stock at the moment, I mean, that’s the problem. Justin Wilson, mayor of Alexandria, said we did not have enough stock.
Wilson, along with 13 other elected leaders in Northern Virginia, has just sent a letter to governments Ralph Northam seeking a larger portion of Virginia’s vaccine supply.
Thousands of people in Arlington have learned that their appointments to get COVID-19 vaccines have been canceled at Virginia Hospital Center. News4’s Darcy Spencer reports.
In it, they asked Northam to “allow our region priority, as we are ready and can now vaccinate significant numbers.”
A Northam spokesman said the governor shared the frustration, but he was hopeful that supply with President Joe Biden’s team would increase in the coming weeks.
King hopes the shot stock will increase in time for her.
‘I am scared. “I do not want to get it again,” King said.