Arlington officials acknowledged that ‘many residents are frustrated’, and on Friday urged patience with the distribution of the vaccine across the country, while urging the state for more doses.
The province is investigating what some see as a slow introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, despite receiving the first vaccine shipment before Christmas.
Earlier this week, vaccinations took place in Arlington at a rate of just over 200 per day. At the same rate, it would take more than two years to give just a single dose of two-dose vaccine to every adult resident of the country.
Over the past two days, the pace has increased, with more than 400 doses per day. As of Friday morning, a total of 4,573 doses had been administered and 550 people in Arlington had been fully vaccinated.
Yet over the past few days, ARLnow has received a shower of emails from people saying Arlington needs to move faster, given the more than 3,000 deaths a year from coronavirus and the increasing incidence of a more contagious virus strain.
“The inability to move at a more reasonable speed is terrible,” one person said. “People are dying.”
In a press release today, the country said it was “rapidly increasing access for eligible Arlingtonians.”
“This weekend, the Arlington County Public Health Division will hold two clinics to vaccinate 1,800 individuals from the Child Care / PreK-12 teachers / staff priority group identified in Phase 1b,” the press release noted.
But even that attempt is not without controversy.
As ARLnow reported for the first time on Thursday, the county’s registration process for Arlington Public Schools employees to sign up for vaccinations has been completed, and many do not receive the emails and links needed to register. . Those who did register and received a confirmation email for the first time were then told that it was not a confirmation of an appointment.
“You have received the WordPress confirmation due to a bug in the technology that allowed more appointments to be booked than was available,” school staff said this afternoon in an email from the Arlington Department of Public Health.
Some people who received the initial confirmation could not find a place when the registration reopened last night.
“There were limited slots available,” APS spokesman Frank Bellavia explained today. Public Health sent an email last night to staff who had not been given an appointment to plan one of the available slots. The remaining slots were filled this morning. ”
Ryan Hudson, spokesman for Arlington’s public health, said the country was now waiting for more vaccine supplies and could not say with certainty when the rest of the APS employees would be vaccinated.
“We cannot give a specific date when all APS teachers and staff will be vaccinated, because the ability to schedule appointments will depend on a greater distribution of the vaccine from Virginia,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the expansion of eligible people under Phase 1b does not increase Arlington’s limited supply of vaccine doses,” Hudson added. “The county began drafting its distribution plan and infrastructure in 2020. Arlington is prepared to expedite appointments as soon as the province receives additional doses from Virginia.”
The director of health of the province, dr. Reuben Varghese, told the Arlington County Board earlier this week that the province is still establishing infrastructure for mass vaccinations. Matt de Ferranti, chairman of the county, when asked by ARL, knew why the process did not start earlier. A lot of work has been done that has led to the arrival of the first vaccine doses.
“Freezers were ordered, [a] website has been developed and we already have an existing relationship with Virginia Hospital Center, ”he said today. ‘Many other infrastructure steps have been taken, but it is very important [for the vaccine] as far as the supply exceeds. Other Northern Virginia jurisdictions and DC also face similar challenges. We are working to get as much of the vaccine as possible. We demand as much patience as people can find. ”
In this afternoon’s press release, de Ferranti defends the efforts of Varghese and Mark Schwartz, provincial manager.
“As the situation changes rapidly, our district manager and director of public health are working to secure vaccinations and get them in arms,” he said. “The Council has assured them that we will provide the necessary resources to do so.”
Other local jurisdictions also said the COVID-19 vaccine was deficient.
“The vaccine supply in the USA is still very limited and is expected to increase gradually in the coming months. Fairfax Health asks for your patience during this process, “the City of Falls Church, which uses the services of the Department of Health in Fairfax County, tweeted today.
Virginia, according to Bloomberg, is close to the bottom of U.S. states that have the use of the vaccine supply.
Elected President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said today that the incoming government plans to use FEMA and the National Guard to set up vaccination clinics across the country while working to get more vaccinations to local pharmacies.
The full press release of the country is below.
Arlington County welcomes Ralph Northam’s decision to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to more Virginia residents, and health and government officials are moving quickly to increase access to suitable Arlingtonians.
On Thursday, January 14, Northam announced that all Virginias aged 65 and over and the ages of 16-64 with underlying medical conditions would move to Phase 1b after the Commonwealth vaccination plan.
“We are grateful that the state is making the COVID-19 vaccine more accessible to Virginiaers who need it and want it,” said Dr. Aaron Miller, director of public safety communications and emergency management, said. ‘At the moment, every available dose has a corresponding arm to go into. And we continue to support the Commonwealth’s efforts to release more vaccine. ”
“The provincial government’s highest priority 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 fitness within the priority groups, including the addition of 65-74-year-olds and those 16-64 with underlying medical conditions to phase 1b. We also receive far fewer vaccinations than demand from Arlingtonians. We ask you to be as patient as possible as we are urgently working on this critical challenge. ”
This weekend, the Arlington County Public Health Division is holding two clinics to vaccinate 1,800 individuals from the Phase 1b Child Care Priority Group / Teachers / Staff identified in Phase 1b, including Arlington Public Schools (APS). People in this group who cannot plan an appointment for the weekend will have opportunities to make appointments as more vaccine becomes available.
Virginia Hospital Center (VHC), which has already partnered with the county to run a vaccination clinic for residents over the age of 75, is working to increase scheduling opportunities when more vaccinations become available.
As Arlington County Public Health begins to receive guidance from the Virginia Department of Health on the additional persons eligible under Phase 1b, it continues to vaccinate the many people who have pre-registered in the past few days.
The expansion of Phase 1b eligible people does not increase the limited supply of Arlington vaccine doses. The ability to schedule appointments will depend on the greater distribution of vaccine from Virginia. The nationwide distribution of any COVID-19 vaccine is managed by the CDC and the U.S. Department of Defense. Arlington County is prepared to expedite and expedite appointments as soon as the County receives additional doses of Virginia.
Meanwhile, people aged 65-74 and people aged 16-64 with a high risk medical condition or disability that increases their risk of serious illness can pre-register from COVID-19 and will be notified when appointments are available as vaccine distribution increases
Arlington employers of frontline emergency workers (as identified in Phase 1b) who want a COVID-19 vaccine must still pre-register with the Arlington County Public Health Division.
“As the situation changes rapidly, our provincial manager and director of public health is working to secure vaccinations and get them in the gun,” de Ferranti said. “The Council has assured them that we will provide the necessary resources to do so.”
Matt Blitz contributed to this report.