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COVID-19 vaccine shortages forced Inova Health System to cancel first-dose appointments for people in Group 1B in Northern Virginia starting Tuesday, a group that includes employees at Fairfax County public schools.
The news comes as elected leaders appeal directly to the governor for more doses.
At Inova’s large vaccination clinic on its main campus, she has been giving up to 3,000 injections per day, including to thousands of FCPS employees since January 15.
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“We understand and share the frustration this news brings to our patients. When we receive more stocks of supplies, we will prioritize patients who had an appointment first and then focus on opening new appointments to eligible groups, ”Inova said on its website. .
People who have already received their first dose will still have appointments made for their second dose, but Inova said her vaccine supply is now severely reduced.
Meanwhile, northern Virginia families like Maryanne King and her parents know all too well the dangers of the coronavirus. When the Springfield family was infected last fall, King’s father almost died.
“My father was about to go on a ventilator. We were beyond ourselves, ”King said.
All three are eligible for the vaccine: King because of serious illness, his parents because of their age.
After days and hours of phone calls, she finally got immunization appointments at a small clinic, but only for her parents.
“She said, ‘We’re just 65 and over and we don’t know when we can still make your band,'” King recalls. “I broke. It was like a knife in the heart. I hung up the phone, looked at mom and said, ‘What am I going to do?’ “
I broke down. It was like a knife in the heart. I hung up the phone and looked at mom and said, “What am I going to do?
Maryanne King, when she learned she could not get the COVID-19 vaccine
It’s an experience that plays out in different ways in northern Virginia.
Health departments learned late last week that the shortage of vaccines across the country means their state allocation is now drastically reduced.
“We just don’t have enough supply right now, I mean, that’s the problem. We are running out of supplies, ”said Mayor of Alexandria Justin Wilson.
Wilson, along with 13 other elected officials from Northern Virginia, just sent a letter to Governor Ralph Northam asking for a larger share of Virginia’s vaccine supply.
Thousands of people in Arlington have learned that their appointments to receive COVID-19 vaccines have been canceled at Virginia Hospital Center. News4’s Darcy Spencer reports.
In it, they called on Northam to “prioritize our region because we are ready and able to vaccinate a significant number now”.
A Northam spokesperson said the governor shared the frustration, but he is hopeful that, working with President Joe Biden’s team, the offer will increase in the coming weeks.
King hopes the supply of hits increases in time for her.
“I’m afraid. I don’t want to have it again, ”King said.
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