Fairfax County’s online registration form for COVID-19 vaccine appointments will be offline for 12 hours starting at 7 p.m. today (Wednesday).
The form will be inaccessible until 7 a.m. tomorrow so that the county can conduct scheduled, routine technical maintenance and updates, according to the Fairfax County Health Department.
“We apologize for any inconvenience,” the FCHD says in an alert on the registration page. “This will not affect anyone who already has a scheduled appointment or anyone who is currently on the waitlist to get an appointment.”
Fairfax County staff told the Board of Supervisors yesterday that they are continuing to work on issues with the county’s online vaccine registration system, which has been plagued by technical issues and overwhelming demand.
“We’re actually engaged with the health department looking at making improvements to the overall scheduling and registration system,” Fairfax County Information Technology Director Greg Scott said during the board’s health and human services committee meeting. “We’re working on that right now.”
The county is also working to improve its approach to communications and ensuring that vaccine doses are distributed equitably.
Photo via Fairfax County Health Department
Fairfax County Public Schools students will start resuming in-person instruction on Feb. 16 under a new timeline unanimously approved by the Fairfax County School Board yesterday.
The board intended to formally vote on the latest proposal from FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand during its regular meeting on Thursday (Feb. 4), but enough members stated that they would support the plan during the board’s work session on Tuesday that they ultimately decided to not wait to give their consensus.
“While there’s no guarantee for anything in life regarding a pandemic, I think this is a strong plan with the resources we have to return to some semblance of what school was like before COVID,” Melanie Meren, who represents Hunter Mill District on the school board, said. “Of course, a lot will be different, but I think it’s needed to help people recover their learning loss.”
As with previous Return to School plans, families have a choice between all-virtual learning and a hybrid model with two days of in-person learning and two days of distance learning. All students have been learning virtually since FCPS returned from winter break.
Under the new timeline, students who opt to get some in-person learning will return to school buildings in phases, starting on Feb. 16 with about 8,000 special education and career and technical education students and concluding with third through sixth-grade students on Mar. 16.
This schedule deviates from the one that was implemented in the fall before being suspended in having elementary school students restart in-person learning at the same time or even later than their older peers in middle and high school, whose return will be staggered across Mar. 2 and 9.
Braddock District Representative Megan McLaughlin questioned the two-week gaps between groups of elementary school students, noting that Loudoun County Public Schools plans to have students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in buildings by Feb. 16.
FCPS officials attributed the extended timeline for elementary schools primarily to staffing issues.
As of Feb. 1, FCPS has filled 74% of the 846 classroom monitor positions that it says are needed to restart in-person learning, but that still leaves 205 vacancies. The biggest gap is in grades three through six, where 94 positions – or 46% — remain vacant.
FCPS Deputy Superintendent Frances Ivey told the school board that, while some may prefer a more aggressive timeline, discussions with elementary school principals indicate that most of them support Brabrand’s proposal.
“There’s an overall positive consensus to the timeline, and recommendations were made based on that feedback,” Ivey said.
Brabrand acknowledged that not all teachers and staff will be fully vaccinated by the time in-person learning restarts, but more than 7,000 FCPS employees had received their first dose by Jan. 25, and nearly 90% of staff members had scheduled an appointment with Inova by Jan. 27.
Inova stopped scheduling first-dose appointments on Jan. 25 due to an anticipated drop in supply levels, but FCPS rescheduled approximately 5,000 appointments that had been canceled over the past weekend, and Brabrand says he is “really confident” that the remainder will be taken care of in the next week or two.
“There really isn’t a perfect Return to School timeline. We’re trying to balance so many competing factors, and that’s what’s been hard,” Brabrand said. “…I am proud of what Inova and the county health department did. They brought us in with open arms and worked through the glitches.”
Even with vaccinations, implementing mitigation protocols like face masks, social distancing, and good hygiene and cleaning practices will be “paramount” to enabling safe in-person learning, according to Brabrand’s presentation.
Individual schools or classes could revert to virtual learning based on COVID-19 transmission levels and staff capacity within those schools, as well as community spread as indicated by the 14-day case rate per 100,000 people and 14-day testing positivity rates.
The inability to create six feet of distance between students on buses will be a challenge, but FCPS officials say they are working with transportation staff to address those concerns, and adequate personal protective equipment will be available for all workers.
“We have certainly enough PPE on hand, and the quality for which we’re purchasing is based on health department guidelines,” FCPS Chief Operating Officer Marty Smith said. “…We certainly wouldn’t want to undercut the safety of our staff or students.”
Now that the school board has settled on a Return to School plan, Brabrand said he is committed to ensuring teachers, staff, administrators, and students get what they need to safely and successfully transition back to in-person learning.
“We’ve got to stay on the data,” Springfield District Representative Laura Jane Cohen said. “We’ve got to be as transparent as humanly possible and a lot more transparent than we have been able to be up to this point. Our staff and families deserve to know what they’re walking into.”
Images via FCPS
Fairfax County has made progress in its efforts to vaccinate priority groups for COVID-19, but challenges remain as officials contend with still-limited supplies while attempting to improve communications and outreach, particularly to minority and disadvantaged communities.
According to a presentation delivered to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning, 53,731 of the 58,825 first doses that the Fairfax County Health Department has received since late December have been administered by either the health department or its partners, which include Emergency Medical Services, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers.
The county health department has also received 25,800 second doses of the Moderna vaccine. 7,875 of those doses have been administered.
With its weekly allocation from Virginia currently limited to 13,600 doses, Fairfax County has scaled back the number of available vaccination sites. The health department is now only providing first doses at the county government center, reserving local health district offices for second doses.
However, the county has also started working with more partners over the past week, including Kaiser, the first private healthcare provider to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and George Mason University’s Mason and Partners (MAP) clinics.
Fairfax County Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu says partnerships like those will be critical to getting the vaccine to more people in Fairfax County, since not everyone can easily travel to the Fairfax County Government Center and other established vaccination sites.
“The ideal thing would be for us to be able to engage clinicians, private providers when we have sufficient vaccine,” Addo-Ayensu said. “…We do know for sure that more vaccine is coming our way, but we just don’t have dates and timelines. All we’re doing right now is building that capacity by engaging with our partners.”
While acknowledging that supply constraints remain the biggest challenge facing the county’s vaccine program, several supervisors shared frustrations that they have heard from constituents who have registered for a vaccination but have no clear sense of when it will actually be their turn to get an appointment. Read More
The non-profit Friends of Reston Regional Library is providing about 1,800 free books to local students. The Book Bites project is giving new books to children at four Reston public schools during meal and school supply pick-up, which typically runs from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m on weekdays.
The schools that will receive donations are Dogwood Elementary, Hunters Woods Elementary, Forest Edge Elementary, and South Lakes High School. The first day of distribution took place at Dogwood late last week and is expected to continue until March.
Where are our @DogwoodFairfax 4-6 readers? We’ve got books waiting for you! We’re here til 1230! 🙂📚@dogwoodlibfcps @DogwoodMinds #WeNeedDiverseBooks #bookbites @LindaSuePark @KSekouM pic.twitter.com/JatcHV2AMw
— RestonLibraryFriends ❤️📚 (@LoveBooksReston) January 29, 2021
Eileen Evon, Community Outreach Chair for FRRL, says the idea came to the organization when they realized how many families were in need of partaking in the meal pick-ups.
“Knowing more kids than ever were going to schools to pick up meals got us thinking about what else they might need to feed their brains and hearts and imaginations during this crazy time,” Evon wrote in an email to Reston Now. “We believed we, as Friends of the Library, could and should help.”
With access to libraries still limited, Evon says, this made the need even greater.
Books were sorted, inventoried, and arranged by reading level by more than 25 volunteers. Families are able to take bundles for multiple students within the same household. Books will also be handed out at schools in the coming weeks, when more students are expected to return in-person.
The books chosen for the project are from recommended school reading lists and were based on input from school librarians, reading specialists, and other school staff.
The organization received assistance from the local business Scrawl Books at Reston Town Center, which provided discounts on books. Jersey Mike’s of Reston also donated 1,000 new paper bags for the book bundles.
FRRL says the total cost of the books being distributed is nearly $15,000. Funds for the project came from sales of donated books as well as cash donations.
In normal times, FRRL raises money (often with book sales) to assist Reston libraries in filling funding gaps. Their mission is to make the local library system the “can be the best it can be” by providing technology, collection materials, programming, and books for free or discounted costs to the community, according to its website.
Evon says that while giving away free books looks easy, it requires a lot of work.
“It seems like a simple idea: ‘let’s give away a bunch of free, brand-new books to kids who rarely get them.’ But it actually has required months of planning and creative thinking,” she says. “The schools have so much going on right now, and they have had to adapt constantly. We’ve been delighted to partner with them so our volunteers can come to their schools to distribute these books to their families.”
Photo courtesy of Friends of Reston Regional Library
The novel coronavirus has now killed 802 people in the Fairfax Health District, which includes Fairfax County and the Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.
While the number of new cases and hospitalizations appear to be trending downward, Fairfax County has still been averaging 365 COVID-19 cases, eight hospitalizations, and 4.5 deaths per day over the past seven days, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s data.
With 237 new cases today (Monday), the Fairfax Health District has recorded a total of 60,436 COVID-19 cases, and 3,317 people have been hospitalized due to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
After a hectic week of mass appointment cancellations and revamped protocols, state and local officials in Virginia hope that an anticipated increase in vaccine supplies, clearer guidance to health providers, and the pending launch of a centralized registration system will result in a more efficient and less confusing COVID-19 vaccination program.
According to a presentation that Fairfax County Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu is scheduled to deliver to county supervisors tomorrow (Tuesday), Virginia is currently receiving about 105,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines per week. The Fairfax Health District has a weekly allocation of 13,600 doses.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced last week that the federal government is expected to increase its allocation of vaccine to the Commonwealth by 16%. He also told local health districts to split their supplies evenly between older adults and the other eligible populations, including essential workers and people with high-risk medical conditions.
Fairfax County continues to lead Virginia’s vaccination efforts, administering 95,935 total doses and fully vaccinating 15,864 people as of today. However, that is only a fraction of the 223,625 doses that the Fairfax Health District has received, according to a new VDH dashboard.
As of Jan. 28, the county had a waitlist of 168,422 people who have pre-registered for an appointment through the Fairfax County Health Department, which has been administering the vaccine to older adults, healthcare workers, long-term care facility employees, and people with underlying medical conditions.
Essential workers, including teachers and first responders, have been getting vaccinated through special clinics from Inova Health Systems, which has reported administering about 75,000 doses. Last week, the nonprofit ceased giving new appointments for people looking to receive their first dose, though Fairfax County Public Schools was able to reschedule appointments for its staff that had been canceled.
Overall, Virginia has received 1.3 million vaccine doses, administered 843,230 doses, and fully vaccinated 124,407 people. The pace of vaccinations has been picking up, with the Commonwealth now averaging 33,675 doses a day, but remains short of Northam’s goal of 50,000 per day.
Images via CDC on Unsplash, VDH, Fairfax County Health Department
New Vaccine Distribution Process In Effect — ” While local health districts are allowed flexibility in how doses are administered, roughly half of the available supply each week will be used for people 65 and older. The other half will be allocated for people eligible in the other categories.“ [Fairfax County Government]
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department Partners with George Mason University — The department’s data analytics strategy management division partnered with the university to give students a chance to work with real world data from the community. Students studied the relationship between medications administered and procedures performed to distance from the receiving hospital. [FCFRD]
Warren Thompson Talks Growth for His Reston-based Hospitality Company — “If you ask Warren Thompson to predict what the restaurant industry looks like on the other side of the Covid-19 crisis, he’s straightforward — ‘I believe 30% to 35% of restaurants will not make it. They will either close or change hands.'” [Washington Business Journal]
Reston Tech Company Names Chief Growth Officer — “Reston-based tech company TekSynap announced last week it has hired Pete Brady as chief growth officer. With more than 35 years of experience in military operations, growth, business development and technology, he was most recently the chief growth officer with BlueWater Federal, which was acquired by Tetra Tech. “ [Virginia Business Monthly]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
What to Know About the Vaccine – ‘The overall decrease in Virginia’s vaccine allocation, a result of limited supplies nationally, is going to significantly limit the pace at which we vaccinate the more than 156,000 residents in Phase 1a and 1b priority groups who have registered through the Health Department’s online application system and are currently in the queue to receive an appointment.’ [Fairfax County Government]
Wireless Service Comes to Metro Rail Tunnels Systemwide — ‘Transit riders and visitors to the nation’s capital now enjoy one of the most connected wireless experiences of any rail system in the U.S. with coverage available in all tunnels. The nation’s major wireless carriers–AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon –and Metro today officially announced the final milestone, more than a decade in the making, to provide wireless service for those who use the Metrorail system.’
Professional Services Firm Names Risk Manager — ‘Reston-based professional services company Caliburn International LLC announced Tuesday it has promoted Mike Reynolds to vice president of risk management. With more than 35 years of experience, Reynolds joined Caliburn in 2020 as a program manager for risk management, supporting U.S. Department of State task orders in Erbil, Iraq and Somalia.’ [Virginia Business Monthly]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Police Department Warns of Scam — Scammers are calling local residents and claiming to represent the Fairfax County Police Department. Individuals are asked to make payments to resolve outstanding warrants, which are fake. [FCPD]
Local Leaders Want Vaccine Woes Fixed — ” A coalition of local governments in Northern Virginia is calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to streamline the release of COVID-19 vaccine doses and provide more transparency and equity into the process.” [Inside NOVA]
Morale Boosters Planned for Herndon Community — “K Scarry of Herndon, Community Director of The People’s Supper, and Jimmy Cirrito, owner of Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon, discuss a new initiative that needs no funding ‘to get all of our neighbors and local businesses through to the other side of the pandemic.“ [The Connection]
Reston Company Plans Hiring Spree — “Fast-growing software company ScienceLogic is prepping for a massive hiring spree in 2021. The Reston company ended 2020 with a little over 400 people and plans to hire about 150 more over the coming year, CEO Dave Link told the Washington Business Journal, boosting headcount by roughly 40% in the coming months.“ [Washington Business Journal]
Photo by Marjorie Copson
The seven-day average of COVID-19 cases in Fairfax County continues a steep decline this week, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health.
Today’s average was 366 cases compared to roughly 681 cases during the prior week of Jan. 18 and 535 cases on Jan. 11. But it is important to note that the number of new cases per day continues to be higher than the first peak of the outbreak over the summer.
For example, VDH reported 689 cases today, well about the peak of 434 over the summer on May 28. The highest number of new cases per day — 1,485 — was reported on Jan. 17.
Similarly, hospitalizations in the county are also on the decline after peaking in early May. The weekly average of hospitalizations has hovered at numbers less than 20 for the last few months, according to VDH data. Today, VDH reported seven hospitalizations and a rolling average of eight.
Statewide, the daily case average took a downturn as well after three days of record-high cases.
Roughly 40 percent of the county’s total population about the age of 16 is eligible to receive the vaccine. So far, 57,702 people have received the first dose of the vaccine and 6,141 people have been fully vaccinated. Statewide, 416,200 people have received the first dose and 58,779 are fully vaccinated.
County officials have noted that while many people are eligible for the vaccine, a limited dose of vaccines is currently available.
In a Jan. 21 letter to Gov. Ralph Northam, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay urged the state to increase the county’s vaccine supply.
The county has more than 100,000 residents registered through the health department’s vaccinations system.
“We average about 10,000 doses a week, which does not meet the demand nor the expectation of the 100,000 people we now have in the queue,” McKay wrote.
People can register online or by calling the county’s vaccine hotline at 703-324-7404.
I wrote to @GovernorVA about our need for more vaccine in FX. We have put every local resource into vaccinating as many ppl as possible. We lead VA in vaccinating, but demand outpaces vaccine available from the state. Ppl are anxious, however know vaccinations are our priority. pic.twitter.com/CXfBufuyzj
— Jeff McKay (@JeffreyCMcKay) January 21, 2021
Reston Association has finished construction on a new Polo Fields Bridge, which is located near Cross Country Lane and Stirrup Iron Lane.
The roughly $55,000 project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, underground utility obstruction and bad weather, according to RA.
Work on the project began in Jan. 2020 and the structure has a 50 year service span.
RA also recently updated its interactive capital project map, which offers additional information on the progress of projects.
For example, RA removing plaster from the inside of Lake Audubon pool and installing new plaster, tile and coping stones. The work is expected to produce noise and dust.
Photo via RA
Case Average Takes Downturn — “On Sunday, Virginia recorded 3,792 new coronavirus cases while the seven-day average continues to decline from last week, according to Virginia Department of Health data.” [Reston Patch]
Reston Group Opposes zMOD — The Reston Citizens Association has issued a lengthy statement opposing certain elements of the county’s zoning modernization project. [Reston 2020]
Snow Possible Tonight — “Precipitation breaks out sometime after 3 p.m., probably starting as light rain before changing to a sleet/snow mix. Mixed precipitation will continue to fall lightly through midnight, probably changing back to light rain overnight. High temperatures in the mid- to upper 30s. Accumulations in the D.C. metro area will be mostly confined to grassy surfaces.” [Capital Weather Gang]
Photo by Marjorie Copson
Fairfax County is changing up its Stuff the Bus food drive this winter to support increased demand for food while accommodating challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Typically held twice a year, Stuff the Bus will kick off its 10th year of existence with buses parked at select locations throughout the county from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6.
During the two-day food drive, community members can stop by the buses to donate nonperishable food that will help restock local food pantries, which have reported an uptick in the need for food and drops in volunteer rates during the pandemic.
To prevent the potential transmission of the novel coronavirus, donors should wear a mask or other face-covering when at a Stuff the Bus site, and Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) is directing people to place their donations directly inside the buses through their rear doors, rather than approaching the front door or the bus drivers.
Fairfax County is also encouraging people to make online monetary donations to the participating nonprofits in lieu of donating food in person.
According to the county, virtual donations give food pantries more flexibility, allowing them to purchase in bulk, stock up on fresh food, and obtain “culturally appropriate foods, which better meet the needs of the diverse communities they serve.” It is also less labor-intensive.
“Nonprofits often rely on the work of volunteers to sort and shelve donations,” NCS says. “The COVID-19 virus has greatly impacted volunteers’ ability to serve, especially older adults or those with pre-existing conditions.”
The Hunter Mill District Supervisor’s Office will accept donations at 1801 Cameron Glen Drive. A complete list of all locations is available online.
Donations at the McLean Government Center will benefit LINK, which provides emergency food to people in the Herndon, Sterling, and Ashburn communities. The Patrick Henry Library drive will support Western Fairfax Christian Ministries on Jan. 30 and Cornerstones on Feb. 6.
The two Providence District locations — the supervisor’s office and James Lee Community Center — will support the Annandale Christian Community for Action on Jan. 30 and the Falls Church Community Service Council on Feb. 6.
A list of the most frequently requested food items can be found on the Stuff the Bus website.
Based on unemployment and poverty data, the Capital Area Food Bank estimates in its October 2020 Hunger Report that there has been a 48% to 60% increase in food insecurity in the D.C. region since the pandemic began.
Image via Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Local police are urging surrounding jurisdictions to exercise caution after a man threatened staff at a Bank of America location (11900 Baron Cameron Avenue) today.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the man threatened staff after they told him to wear a mask at around 9:21 a.m.
Sgt. Hudson Bull told Reston Now the man reportedly became “disorderly and threatened the staff before leaving.”
A description of the suspect was shared with neighboring police departments, including Arlington County police, which said in a be-on-the-lookout broadcast that the man had threatened to shoot bank employees and should be considered armed and dangerous.
“Officers are continuing to investigate this case and put out an informational message to surrounding jurisdictions for their awareness,” Bull said.
Image via Google Maps
About 40% of Fairfax County residents 16 and older are now eligible to register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment after Virginia expanded phase 1b to include anyone 65 and older as well as people with medical conditions or a disability that puts them at high risk of severe illness if they contract the disease.
Eligible populations now include:
- Healthcare workers and long-term care facility employees
- People age 65 and older
- People who are 16-64 years old and have high-risk medical conditions
- Essential frontline workers, including school staff, corrections and homeless shelter workers, grocery store workers, and police, fire, and hazmat first responders
However, the Fairfax County Health Department’s registration system has been plagued by technical issues and struggled to keep up with the high demand for the vaccines. In addition, limited supplies mean that even people who are able to register might have to wait weeks to secure an appointment.
While the process has been less than ideal so far, Fairfax County has administered more than 45,000 vaccine doses, and 4,620 residents have been fully vaccinated, as of Jan. 20, according to Virginia Department of Health data.
Have you been able to successfully register for the COVID-19 vaccine yet? Have you tried to register but been frustrated by the county’s system? If you’re not eligible yet, are you planning to get vaccinated once you are?
Photo by Karen Bolt/Fairfax County Public Schools
Dozens of local artists and arts-oriented organizations got welcome news last week when ArtsFairfax announced the recipients of $567,138 in emergency relief and recovery grants on Jan. 15.
A nonprofit that serves as Fairfax County’s designated local arts agency, ArtsFairfax created an Emergency Relief and Recovery Grants program in order to provide quick funding to an industry that has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program comes in lieu of the agency’s usual grant programs, which were suspended for fiscal year 2021.
“The impact of COVID-19 continues to have a devastating effect on the arts community, yet we have seen the arts continue to provide arts education, senior engagement, family entertainment and so much more,” ArtsFairfax president and CEO Linda S. Sullivan said.
Out of the $108,500 in funding requests that it received, ArtsFairfax has awarded $101,950 in emergency relief grants to 40 different Fairfax County arts organizations. It also raised private funds to support $28,300 in grants to 29 individual artists.
In addition, 39 arts organizations will receive operating support grants for FY 2021. These funds are awarded annually to nonprofit arts organizations in Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church to support basic operations.
ArtsFairfax is awarding $436,888 in operating support grants for this fiscal year after receiving $913,933 in requests from 39 different organizations.
“The arts will be a vital part of our health and economic recovery,” Sullivan said. “We need to support the arts today, so they are here for us tomorrow.”
With in-person performances and exhibitions largely suspended for the past year, the pandemic has taken a significant toll on the American arts and culture industry.
The nonprofit Americans for the Arts estimates that, as of Jan. 11, arts and cultural organizations have lost $14.8 billion nationally as a result of COVID-19. 63% of workers in the arts sector have become unemployed, and 95% have reported a loss of income.
According to a dashboard from Americans for the Arts, nonprofit arts organizations in Fairfax County have reported a median financial loss of $30,000 for a total impact of $4.3 million, though that is based on a small sample size of 55 respondents.
Local recipients include Arts Herndon, the Reston Chorale, and Reston Community Orchestra. A full list of ArtsFairfax grant recipients can be found on the nonprofit’s website.
Photo via Reston Community Orchestra
