Loudoun County Health Department issued the following announcement on Jan. 9.
During the first week of the expansion of vaccination efforts into Phase 1b of Virginia’s vaccination priorities, the Loudoun County Health Department has received more than 50,000 inquiries regarding appointments for vaccination. At this time, all currently available vaccine doses in Loudoun are allocated to individuals who are included in the Phase 1a or Phase 1b priority groups, and vaccination continues on a daily basis. As a result, there will be a delay in making additional appointments for those who have completed the pre-screening survey until more vaccine arrives in Loudoun.
“The Health Department receives weekly shipments of vaccine. Right now, it is unclear how much vaccine we will receive from week to week,” said Loudoun County Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend. “Health districts throughout Virginia are impacted by this unexpected slowdown in vaccine shipments, so we must all be patient as we continue to work through the backlog of requests for vaccination appointments.”
Based on current vaccination deliveries, the Health Department anticipates it may take eight weeks or more to vaccinate most of the people in Loudoun who are in the Phase 1b priority group with both doses.
What You Need to Know if You Already Submitted Your Information
The Health Department has received tens of thousands of pre-screening surveys from people who are eligible for vaccination in Phase 1a or Phase 1b. There are currently many more people who have signed up to receive a vaccine than there are doses of vaccine available in Loudoun. As a result, thousands of individuals are currently waiting to be contacted by the Health Department when vaccination appointments become available, which is dependent on the arrival of additional shipments of COVID-19 vaccine.
If you have already submitted your pre-screening survey, you do not need to contact the Health Department again to verify whether you are on our list. The survey does not provide a confirmation email indicating you are registered; however, submitting your contact information online or by phone completes the first step for getting a vaccination appointment.
After submitting your information to the Health Department, you must be patient. At this time, it will likely be several weeks before you are contacted by the Health Department for a vaccination appointment. There is no need to resubmit your information through the pre-screening survey or to call the Health Department to verify whether you are registered. The Health Department is unable to verify that a survey has been completed by phone. When more vaccine arrives, more appointments will become available, and the Health Department will contact you. If you submitted an email address, you will be contacted by email. If you submitted only a phone number, you will be contacted by phone to schedule an appointment.
Time for Your Second Dose?
If you already received your first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and you are approaching the time for your second dose, you should seek vaccine appointments from the same source of your first dose, if possible. If you made your own appointment through the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS), you should log in to VAMS and make your second appointment. You do not need to submit additional information to the Health Department. If you made an appointment by phone, the Health Department will contact you regarding an appointment for your second dose.
Residents May Continue to Submit a COVID-19 Pre-Screening Survey Online
If you are eligible for vaccine in the Phase 1a or Phase 1b priority groups and you have not already been contacted by your employer, or you have not already submitted the online pre-screening survey, you may submit the survey to register for vaccination with the Health Department. Please note that going forward many employers of essential workers in the Phase 1a and Phase 1b groups will have the opportunity to facilitate vaccination at employer-based clinics. You are encouraged to contact your employer about vaccination if you have not already done so.
Residents over the age of 65, and adults with high-risk medical conditions, and other essential workers in the Phase 1a and Phase 1b groups who are not receiving vaccine through their employers, may submit the online pre-screen survey. (Learn more about who is currently eligible for vaccination in the Phase 1a and Phase 1b priority groups.)
- Submit an online pre-screening survey.
The fastest and most efficient method to obtain an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine is to submit the online form. This form verifies your eligibility and provides your contact information. Please submit one form and use one unique email address for each individual who needs a vaccine (do not use the same email address for multiple people). You will not receive a confirmation email after submitting the survey; however, you will be registered in our system. After submitting the form, it may be several weeks before you receive a response because vaccine supplies are limited. Please be patient; once you submit an online pre-screening survey, there is no need to call the Health Department as survey status cannot be verified by phone. Eventually, you will be contacted by email to schedule an appointment.
- If you do not have access to the internet, you may call Loudoun County’s COVID-19 information line at 703-737-8300 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Due to significant call volume, there may be a delay in reaching an operator.
We anticipate that vaccine supplies will increase in the coming months. As a result, vaccination opportunities in the community will also increase. The Health Department will continue to offer vaccination appointments as long as necessary; however, you may begin to find opportunities to receive a vaccine from your doctor or local pharmacy. You should continue to monitor for the availability of COVID-19 vaccine and seek vaccine from the most convenient source available according to the vaccination priorities set by the Virginia Department of Health.
Sign Up to Receive Alerts
Additional information about the ongoing vaccination efforts will be published as it becomes available. To stay informed about when it is your turn to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, residents should sign up to receive text or email updates about COVID-19 from Loudoun County:
- Text LCCOVID19 to 888777 to receive text alerts in English.
- Text LCCOVIDESP to 888777 to receive text alerts in Spanish.
- Sign up for email and text updates on COVID-19 in Notify Me, Blogs category, “Coronavirus (COVID-19)”.
- Follow Loudoun County on Facebook and Twitter.
- Visit the county’s website, loudoun.gov/coronavirus.
Before and after Loudoun residents receive a COVID-19 vaccine, everyone is encouraged to continue taking the steps that help prevent the spread of the disease, including washing hands frequently, wearing face coverings, social distancing, avoiding large gatherings of people and staying home when sick. Learn more about COVID-19 prevention and care on the county’s website.
For more information about COIVD-19 vaccination efforts in Loudoun County, visit loudoun.gov/COVID19vaccine.
Original source can be found here.
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