Starting this Sunday, April 18, every Virginian age 16 and older will be eligible to register to get the COVID-19 Vaccine. As supply increases more locations will become available, including a large vaccination clinic opening Tuesday in Tysons in a former department store space. The Health Department has paused the use of the J&J vaccines consistent with CDC and FDA recommendations. See below for details.

This email includes an update from the April 13 board meeting, information from VDOT on a temporary road closure for repairs on Park Rd and Vermont Ave, as well as several upcoming meetings and events:

Please share this email with your friends and neighbors, and do not hesitate to contact my office if we can be of assistance; email Dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov or call 703-356-0551.

Sincerely,

John

Beginning Sunday, April 18, all individuals in the Fairfax Health District who are 16 or older will be eligible to directly schedule a vaccine appointment through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s VaccineFinder.org as Fairfax County moves into Phase 2 with the rest of Virginia.

VaccineFinder displays available doses from approved vaccine providers across the county, including the Health Department, pharmacies, hospitals and some private practices. Simply enter your zip code and select a search radius. Residents are encouraged to schedule an appointment on VaccineFinder with any provider based on the day, time and location that is most convenient for them. Be aware that each provider may have different processes to sign up to get an appointment. If you are on our current waitlist but get vaccinated by another provider, please remove yourself from our waitlist.

With this new system, Fairfax County will no longer accept registrations for the COVID-19 vaccine. Everyone who is on our waitlist before it closes at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, will be contacted to schedule appointments within approximately one week. All other residents interested in obtaining a vaccine should utilize VaccineFinder. Clinics managed by the Health Department and some of its partners may not be listed on that site until late April or early May due to available vaccine supply and the need to finish vaccinating those on the waitlist.

Our current registration system was required in Phase 1 to accommodate the prioritization of residents when local health departments were the primary community vaccination sites. In Phase 2, the larger pool of community vaccination sites allows us to shift to this new process, which will allow greater flexibility and choice of where residents receive their vaccine.

Now that the entire commonwealth is in the same phase, the Fairfax preregistration system will be retired but the state registration system will remain open after April 18 for those who meet Phase 1 eligibility criteria. Individuals in this group after April 18 can choose to schedule appointments on VaccineFinder or can register at Vaccinate Virginia if no appointments are available. For assistance, call the state’s call center at 877-829-4682 or the Fairfax County call center at 703-324-7404.

As the transition to Phase 2 occurs, our demand for vaccine still surpasses a supply that has seen fluctuations across jurisdictions throughout the state and the country. It is anticipated that vaccine supplies will begin to increase throughout the spring and summer.

To reach the full Health Department update click here.

On Tuesday, April 20, a Community Vaccination Center (CVC) (a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination clinic) will open in Fairfax County. This site is part of a larger initiative designed to increase the number of high-throughput locations administering the COVID-19 vaccine across Virginia. The location is in the former Lord & Taylor store at Tysons Corner Center, 1961 Chain Bridge Road, in Tysons.

The Fairfax CVC is organized by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in cooperation with the Fairfax County Health Department and the Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management. The site will be operated by Ashbritt/IEM, under contract with VDEM.

CVC sites are intended to augment opportunities for vaccination, adding another site to those operated by local health departments, pharmacies, healthcare providers and healthcare facilities. One of eight CVC sites located throughout the state, locations are selected using a health equity lens and based on population reach, COVID-19 impact and accessibility.

To support the Fairfax Health District’s transition to Phase 2, the Fairfax CVC will initially partner with the Fairfax County Health Department to complete first dose vaccinations of all Phase 1 eligible individuals currently on the county’s registration waitlist. In coming weeks, the Fairfax CVC will be listed in vaccinefinder.org, along with other vaccination sites in the Fairfax Health District, allowing all individuals who are 16 or older to directly schedule a vaccine appointment. Appointments are required for all vaccinations at this site.

Following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Virginia Department of Health to pause all Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccinations because of a potentially very rare side effect, Fairfax County will not be administering any J&J vaccines until further notice.

While this action limits the amount of available vaccine, its impact on the Fairfax Health District is minimal since the Fairfax County Health Department and its partners have primarily been using Pfizer vaccine for the past several months.

No clinics or appointments will be affected. Fairfax County did not receive any J&J vaccine this week, and we were not expecting any next week. A small amount of J&J vaccine remaining from last week and allocated for this week will be substituted with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to avoid any cancellations at our Health Department sites.

Individuals who have received the J&J vaccine and who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.

The Board met virtually on Tuesday for a regularly scheduled Board Meeting. Below are a few highlights and the entire meeting is available to view on demand here.

A letter endorsing the I-495 Northern Extension Express Lanes (I-495 NEXT) project passed by a vote of 8 to 2. Supervisor Foust was one of the 2 "no" votes, as the letter did not express that VDOT only consider final action on the I-495 NEXT project once Maryland has successfully executed a comprehensive agreement with a developer to complete widening the American Legion Beige and their system of managed lanes. To watch the board discussion of this item click here.

On Tuesday, April 13, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors moved to adopt and take necessary actions to advance the recommendations presented by the Affordable Housing Preservation Task Force to the Board’s Housing Committee on April 6. Supervisors voted to include resource recommendations in FY 2023 budgetary guidance; to authorize an amendment to the Housing and Land Use Elements of the Comprehensive Plan to reflect the recommendations made; and to authorize the establishment of a standing interagency task force to address the issues surrounding manufactured home communities. The action, introduced jointly by Supervisors John Foust, Dalia Palchik, Kathy Smith and Chairman Jeff McKay, passed unanimously.

“The Affordable Housing Preservation Task Force was created in July 2020 to develop strategic recommendations to guide the County’s efforts in preserving the existing stock of market affordable homes and they have done an outstanding job. With this measure, this Board is taking decisive and critical steps to put those recommendations to work and ensure that Fairfax County is the kind of inclusive community that will continue to provide decent, dignified and safe accommodations for residents across the income spectrum.” ~ Supervisor John Foust, Housing Committee Chairman

Fairfax County is home to roughly 9,000 units of “market affordable” housing. “Market affordable” housing refers to those homes considered affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income without enforceable rent or income restrictions. These homes face constant pressures from redevelopment, renovation and repositioning of older properties into higher-rent communities. As the increase in rents across the county continues to outpace increases in income – particularly among the low- and moderate-income workforce – the preservation of affordable housing throughout the county remains a key priority moving forward.

 

Park Road between Kirby Road and Old Dominion Drive, and Vermont Avenue between Massachusetts Avenue and Park Road will be closed to through traffic, weather permitting, from 7 a.m. Monday, April 19 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, and then have daily closures Wednesday, April 21 through Friday, April 23 and Monday, April 26 through Tuesday, April 27 to replace a stormwater pipe, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). 

 

 

Those needing to reach properties along Park Road will have access via Kirby Road, and those needing to reach properties along Vermont Avenue will have access via Valley Wood Road and Massachusetts Avenue; however, traffic will not be able to access Park Road from either Old Dominion Drive or Vermont Avenue, nor will traffic be able to access Vermont Avenue via Park Road.

 

Through traffic will be detoured via Old Dominion Drive, Valley Wood Road, Vermont Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, Franklin Avenue and Kirby Road.

                  

View this press release on the VDOT website here. 

Department of Tax Administration (DTA), will host a Virtual Tax Relief Workshops on Thursday, April 15th and Thursday, April 22nd, 2021, from 10:30a.m. to 12 noon both days. DTA staff will be presenting information and answering questions about completing the 2021 Tax Relief application form. To join please click on the link provided below or call in. Residents who call in will not be able to view the presentation information. For privacy reasons, the virtual workshop will not include individual application consultation. DTA staff will be glad to make an appointment to serve residents and their authorized representatives if personalized help is needed.

No registration is required for residents to attended either of the two identical sessions, however a free download of Microsoft TEAMS will be needed to view the video link.

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Or call in (audio only): 571-429-5982, then enter conference ID: 352 684 855#

Join the Fairfax County Police Department McLean District Station for a virtual presentation on how to improve neighborhood safety.

Several dates are available, Click here to sign up:

Once you have registered a Zoom link will be emailed to you. If you have any questions email MPO Carolyn Beyer at Carolyn.beyer@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Drug take back programs are a safe method for disposing of prescription drugs and are organized and closely monitored by local, state, and federal government agencies. Safe disposal of unused or expired medications prevents drug abuse and misuse, accidental poisoning, and protects the environment.

Drop-Off Sites

1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA 22101

1850 Town Center Parkway, Reston, VA 20190

Outside Pavilion 1, across from Parking Garage B

Accepted items:

Not accepted: illegal drugs, pressurized canisters [inhalers/aerosol cans], needles, large sources of liquids, non-prescription ointments and lotions.

For more information and other locations in Fairfax County click here.

NEED HELP WITH A SUBSTANCE MISUSE ISSUE?

Call the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board:

Learn about year-round prescription and over the counter medication disposal, including those prescribed by veterinarians here.

The Solarize Fairfax County program is back for a fifth year running, providing county residents and businesses the chance to install solar arrays at a discount. From April 12 through June 30, Solarize reduced rates will be available through a pre-qualified solar installer, Solar Energy World. 

All county residents and business owners are eligible for a free, remote assessment to evaluate if solar is appropriate for their home or commercial building. Those who decide to pursue solar through the program receive a 10-15% discount off current consumer rates for solar arrays and systems. 

In 2021, for the first time, the Solarize program is offering participants the opportunity to install battery storage systems in connection with their arrays. Additionally, residential Solarize participants are eligible for a complimentary, virtual home energy assessment to help improve their home energy performance holistically. Solarize participants can also bundle electric vehicle charging stations with their solar system purchase at a discount.

If you are curious about Solarize, attend one of the virtual information sessions taking place in the coming months:

Fairfax County is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation. Residents are strongly encouraged to utilize the resources listed below: