The Reston Community Players are back on the stage after a year of no on-stage performances.

Dark since March 2020, the Reston Community Players have drawn back the curtain for a virtual-only performance of the Cold War-era drama “A Walk in the Woods.”

The show was pre-recorded at CenterStage at the Reston Community Center. It was available on-demand starting last week and will be available through March 25.

The theater’s artistic director Kate Keifer said the theater has been working “tirelessly” to develop new ways of creating and delivering their art to the community.

“It’s a hard time to know when is the ‘right’ time to come back to the stage,” writes Keifer in an email to Reston Now. “We have all missed producing live theater so much during the past year. Filming this production at the CenterStage at RCC… and then streaming it online seemed to be a good compromise to the continued concerns for the health and safety of our volunteers and our patrons.”

Keifer says that while it’s been the pause “equal parts frustrating and fascinating,” it’s given the theater a chance to innovate and learn new skills.

This past summer, the theater organized a two-day virtual telethon with partnership with more than a dozen other community theaters across the region to raise money for the arts.

In the fall, they held a month-long concert series to help with their own operating costs as well make donations to other local non-profits.

This performance of A Walk in the Woods, however, is the first time that they are getting back to doing something similar as they had done in the past.

A Walk in the Woods follows two Cold War nuclear arms negotiations, one Russian and the other American, as they hold a series of informal discussions in the woods about the current state of affairs. The seasons change, as do their understanding of one another.

Keifer admits that it was a challenge for the two-person cast to perform in front of an empty theater, but gave them the opportunity to get creative.

“[It was] definitely not as much fun as performing to a theater full of appreciative patrons,” she says. “But the actors in this production are extremely talented professionals who deliver carefully crafted, emotional performances despite the lack of a live audience. We were also able to explore techniques we don’t typically get to use, such as close up camera angles.”

As for when audiences will be able to see the Reston Community Players again in person, Keifer says the hope is soon.

“We are hopeful to be able to return to the stage before the end of 2021,” she says. ” We are working feverishly on some very exciting plans to make it happen.”

The Reston Community Players is a non-profit 501c and have been performing since 1966. It has called CenterStage their home since 1979.

Photo courtesy of Reston Community Players

Local Police to Hold Meeting on Recent Crimes — The Fairfax County Police Department will host a community engagement forum on March 23 to discuss recent crimes in Reston. The meeting takes place via Zoom. [RA]

Virginia Extends Tax Deadline — Gov. Ralph Northam has exceeded the deadline for filing individual income taxes from May 1 to May 17.  The federal government also recently pushed the deadline for federal income tax filings and payments from April 15 to May 17. [Northam]

Nearly a Quarter of Virginians Receive At least One Vaccine Dose — ‘ Virginia surpassed 2 million residents with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, representing 23.9 percent of the population. According to Virginia Department of Health data, 3,075,086 total doses have been administered, with 2,039,437 people receiving at least their first dose.’  [Reston Patch]

Answers Sought in Reston Shooting — ‘Detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau were knocking on doors in Reston Wednesday seeking information about a recent fatal shooting in the area, according to a post on FCPD’s Twitter account. On March 11, officers responded to the report of gunshots in the 2200 block of Winterthur Court.’ [Reston Patch]

Photo by Ray Copson

Reston Town Center’s Bow Tie Cinemas is looking to re-open by Memorial Day.

A company spokesperson tells Reston Now that they plan is to turn the projectors back on when “the film supply becomes more stable, perhaps by Memorial Day at the latest.” Meaning, when studios begin releasing more movies again to theaters (as opposed to streaming services or on demand).

The spokesperson noted that studios have already started doing this, advertising summer releases and populating the calendar for the later year, due to the re-opening of theaters in New York and Los Angeles.

The Reston Town Center movie theater shut down a year ago and has yet to reopen.

However, several other local theaters have already opened their doors including Herndon’s AMC Worldgate 9 and AMC Tysons Corner 16. The Regal Dulles Town Center, however, remains closed.

Virginia currently allows movie theaters and other arts venues to open with up to 30% capacity.

Bowtie Cinema’s only other Virginia location in Richmond reopened in July. The company spokesperson didn’t answer a follow-up about why the Richmond location is open while the Reston one is currently not.

When it does re-open, a number of safety protocols will be in place including mandatory facemasks, increased cleanings, social distancing, and contactless cash exchange.

Bowtie Cinemas acquired the theater at Reston Town Center in 2011 from Rave Cinema.

This year’s graduating classes may get to celebrate their achievements with socially-distanced graduation ceremonies.

Earlier this week, Gov. Ralph Northam released preliminary guidance for graduation ceremonies at high schools and universities this spring and summer.

“We are releasing this guidance early to allow schools to begin planning for this year’s events,” Northam said Wednesday in a statement. “While graduation and commencement ceremonies will still be different than they were in the past, this is a tremendous step forward for all of our schools, our graduates, and their families.”

Northam wants all outdoor ceremonies to be capped at 5,000 people or 30 percent of venue capacity.

Indoors events are limited to 500 people or 30 percent of the venue capacity. All attendees must wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines to the extent possible.

Seating areas should be reconfigured to accommodate social distancing, among other recommendations pitched by Northam.

Updated guidance is expected to be released as part of a forthcoming executive order.

The guidance comes as Fairfax County Public Schools prepares for a return to five days of in-person classes in the fall. Since Feb. 16, more than 98,000 students and staff members have resumed in-person classes.

More than two-thirds of the state’s public school teachers and staff have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The statewide positivity rate for COVID-19 also continues to fall, currently standing at 5.4 percent.

Last year, some students celebrated with car parades, while other schools returned to virtual celebrations or graduate photo opportunities.

With this in mind, we’d love to know what you think about how and if in-person graduation ceremonies should resume this year. Let us know in the poll below.

(Update 3/19/21, 9:20 a.m.) Every Fairfax County resident should be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, a county official says, reiterating Biden’s call last week.

“We fully expect to meet the President’s deadline to open eligibility to every Fairfax County resident by May 1,” County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay wrote in a statement to Reston Now. “Since the beginning, we have had the capacity to vaccinate tens of thousands of people a day, however our vaccine supply didn’t match that. Now that supply is ramping up, we will double down on our priority of getting shots in arms as quickly as possible.”

This also comes on the heels of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam writing on Facebook that May is “an ambitious target,” but an achievable one.

As noted in yesterday’s (March 17) announcement from the county opening eligibility for additional groups, the plan is to move into Phase 1c by mid-April before moving to Phase 2 (general population) on May 1.

Phase 1c includes other essential workers like those in energy, water and waste removal, housing and construction, and food service.

Virginia’s Vaccine Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula provided an even more optimistic timeline in an interview a week ago, saying that everyone who wants the vaccine should be able to get their first dose by May 31.

“We really think we will easily meet that May 1 marker and potentially even outpace it by a couple of weeks,” he said. “We’ll move into that open eligibility before the end of April and everybody who wants a vaccine should be able to be vaccinated by the end of May, at least with the first dose.”

The county is, at this point, non-committal about that that projected timeline and if it’s achievable that everyone in the county who wants a vaccine, can get at least a first dose by May 31.

“We have no way to project that far out,” Fairfax County Board Supervisor Jeff McKay wrote in a statement to Reston Now. “But we’re certainly pushing for more doses, making tremendous progress, and working to meet to President’s charge to make everyone eligible by May 1.”

This week, the county is planning on getting 43,000 vaccine doses from the state which is a jump from last week’s 31,500 doses.

The pace of vaccinations is quickening in the county with private providers and retail pharmacies recently being added to the list of those doing vaccinations. Also, a mass vaccination clinic is expected to open by the end of the month.

Additionally, doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should arrive to the county by the end of the month, furthering increasing supply.

In total, the county has received 290,853 doses from the Commonwealth and has administered the first  dose to 270,213 people. That’s approximately 23.5% of the county’s population.

This story was updated to clarify those eligible in Phase 1c as well as a statement from Fairfax County Board Supervisor Jeff McKay. 

A consultant is recommending a dozen ways Fairfax County can uplift people whose livelihoods have been harmed by the pandemic in the short-term and promote long-term economic resilience.

Specific short-term measures include launching “Buy Local” and “Made in Fairfax” campaigns, focusing on women- and minority-owned businesses, and finding ways to reduce rent or other costs for struggling small businesses.

Other recommendations target those hit hardest — including people without high school degrees, women with children, and people of color — with services like career centers, workforce training programs, and affordable childcare.

“A lot of these things have ongoing aspects, but tying them together and focusing on economic recovery is really going to be an effective approach,” Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said.

County staff presented plans for implementing the consultant’s recommendations and assisting small businesses during the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors economic initiatives committee meeting on Tuesday (March 16).

Fairfax County has up to $15 million in reserves to support economic recovery efforts and could also use some of the anticipated $222.56 million in federal funds coming from the American Rescue Plan, according to Foust, who chairs the committee.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn called the staff proposal “fantastic” but added that transportation — which did not figure into staff planning — should play a role in the county’s recovery efforts.

“Since we’re doing something new, I would just recommend putting more structure into collaboration across agencies,” Providence Supervisor Dalia Palchik said.

Fairfax County hired the consultant HR&A last summer to analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected its economy and what the county government could do to expedite a more just recovery. More than 65 organizations and small businesses participated in the study, providing input on perceived barriers to and strategies for economic recovery.

According to the consultant’s report, before COVID-19, flourishing technology and government sectors contributed to a decade of strong economic growth for Fairfax County. The total number of jobs grew by 9% annually, and employment had reached its lowest level since the Great Recession.

In 2018, the county had the third-highest median household income in the D.C. area, but significant racial disparities lurked just below the surface: The median household income for white residents was about $140,000, exceeding that of Black households (~$86,000) and Hispanic households (~$81,000).

The pandemic reversed that job growth and exacerbated the existing disparities.

Through December 2020, Fairfax County lost an estimated 48,200 jobs, mainly in food service, hospitality, retail, and the arts. Small businesses in these three sectors will have a particularly long road to recovery, HR&A said.

The consultant also reported that job losses were most acutely felt by low-income people, people of color, and people with lower levels of formal education and training, which will make “the road to economic stability longer and more challenging.”

The job market appears to have settled down since the upheaval of the pandemic’s early days, when initial unemployment claims in Fairfax County soared to a high of 21,302 filings during the week of April 4. The Virginia Employment Commission reported today that 543 people filed new claims for the week of March 6, though the numbers ticked back up over 1,000 for multiple weeks over the winter.

HR&A outlined several ways Fairfax County can facilitate job opportunities for those suffering the most, namely, getting people who lost jobs in hard-hit industries access to jobs in industries that have weathered the pandemic better, including government and technology.

In the short-term, HR&A recommends Fairfax County employ artists to design public service announcements or put on performances. The county could also hire workers to fill temporary needs like contact-tracing, while partnering with the private sector to place people in long-term jobs.

Home to more than 8,900 technology-focused businesses, Fairfax County could pursue policies that support workforce training in health technology, digital services, and green jobs. Given its proximity to D.C., Fairfax County will continue attracting government workers, so the county should keep expanding the workforce pipeline for government and contracting work, the firm said.

The workforce will likely need skills training to acquire new qualifications, as well as equal digital access and digital literacy and adequate childcare access. This will require investing in job centers, improving certification and training programs, and making it easier to connect people with county and private services, HR&A writes.

In the long-term, the consultant recommends Fairfax County continue efforts such as easing online permitting processes and contributing to affordable housing.

Photo via Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Fairfax County, Falls Church City, and Fairfax City residents who work in grocery stores, manufacturing, and the food and agriculture sectors can now register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, starting today (Wednesday).

The Fairfax County Health Department announced this morning that it is expanding eligibility for the vaccine to the next three groups of essential frontline workers included in phase 1b, as defined by the Virginia Department of Health.

“We are opening these categories because our vaccine supply will be increasing over the next few weeks and we will be able to move through our current waitlist at a faster pace,” the health department said in its blog post.

This is the first time that the Fairfax Health District has expanded vaccine eligibility since Jan. 18, when appointments opened up to people 65 and older as well as younger people with medical conditions that put them at high risk of severe illness if they contract the novel coronavirus.

Virginia has been in phase 1b of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign since Jan. 11, but because of the limited availability of the vaccines, Fairfax County had restricted registration based on employment to the top three priority groups: police, fire, and hazmat workers; corrections and homeless shelter workers; and childcare and school teachers and staff.

The pace of vaccinations in Fairfax County has accelerated over the past couple of weeks as the health department has started receiving more doses. Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay says the county got more than 43,000 doses this week — a jump up from the 31,590 doses that came in last week, which was itself a significant increase from 19,220 doses in the week before that.

This latest phase 1b group focuses on individuals who work in the food, agriculture, and manufacturing industries, including grocery and convenience store workers, veterinarians, food pantry and distribution site workers, and butcher and slaughterhouse workers.

However, it does not include workers at restaurants and other food or beverage establishments, who are instead included in phase 1c.

The Fairfax County Health Department notes that newly eligible individuals should be prepared to show “some form of work-related identification or paystub,” since some of the county’s partner vaccine providers require proof of identity.

The Virginia Department of Health announced yesterday that some localities are ready to transition to phase 1c starting this week.

The Fairfax Health District still has five categories of 1b workers — transit workers, mail carriers, government officials, janitors and other cleaning staff, and clergy and faith leaders — who are not yet able to register for appointments.

However, the county health department says it expects to reach phase 1c by mid-April, and by May 1, it plans to open eligibility to phase 2, which will enable anyone over age 16 who lives or works in Virginia to register for a vaccine appointment.

Photo via Fairfax County Health Department

Fairfax County Public School students will attend in-person classes five days a week when the new academic year starts this fall, FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand pledged yesterday (Tuesday) at a school board work session.

The commitment came on the same day that FCPS welcomed third and sixth-grade students back into classrooms. This was the final cohort to be phased into hybrid learning, where students who choose to can receive two days of in-person instruction and two days of virtual instruction.

Since FCPS initiated its Return to School plan on Feb. 16, more than 98,000 students and staff members have resumed in-person classes. That number will exceed 109,000 students when the transition finishes this Thursday (March 19), according to Brabrand.

Brabrand told the school board that a combination of low levels of reported COVID-19 transmission in schools, declining case rates in the county as a whole, accelerating vaccination efforts, and new research on social distancing in schools gave FCPS officials the confidence to plan to begin the upcoming 2021-2022 school year with full-time in-person classes.

“We have shown that we can return our students and staff to our buildings in a way that is safe and steady,” Brabrand said. “We are confident that we can deliver on a five-day return for all students in the fall, knowing that, while we can adapt to any situation, in-person learning really is the best option for our students and staff.”

According to a presentation by FCPS staff, 0.2% of 86,526 students and staff expected to return to in-person classes have tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 26, and only 0.02% reported being infected due to transmission in schools.

As of Tuesday, FCPS had recorded 1,107 cases among students, staff, and visitors since Sept. 8.

FCPS Department of Special Services Assistant Superintendent Michelle Boyd reported that the “overwhelming majority” of employees have now been vaccinated, and the school system is working with partners like the Fairfax County Health Department and Inova to get the vaccine to the remaining individuals.

FCPS also anticipates having in-person graduation ceremonies for this year’s high school seniors, though rules for prom, all-night graduation parties, and other social gatherings will likely be more stringent.

Brabrand said Gov. Ralph Northam and the Virginia Department of Health are expected to issue guidance for school districts before April.

With all grade levels now in hybrid learning, FCPS has started to plan for summer school, which will take place in person from late June to early August at all schools for over 40,000 students — 10 times the usual summer school attendance, according to FCPS Chief Academic Officer Sloan Presidio.

Presidio says schools will coordinate enrollment in summer programs with individual families “based on identified student need” in terms of both academic and social-emotional factors.

FCPS also plans to provide up to four days of in-person classes starting after spring break to students who have been struggling the most this year, particularly students with disabilities and English-language learners.

To ensure there is room for those students, anyone who opted for hybrid learning must be in attendance by March 26, the day before spring break begins, or they could be reverted to all-virtual classes.

“If students have registered to attend in-person, we need them to do so on a regular basis,” Presidio said. “It’s really important, because those seats and the capacity in our buildings really is at a premium.”

Even if social distancing guidelines shrink from six feet to three feet, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering, Brabrand cautioned that expanding in-person learning will carry challenges, from ensuring there is adequate space and staffing to convincing skeptical families that schools can operate safely with mitigation measures in place.

He told the school board that limited virtual learning will still be available on a more case-by-case basis, but FCPS believes that most students need in-person classes to have the best chance at being successful in school.

“We have an equity imperative to have all of our students back in person in the 2021-22 school year who don’t otherwise have specific health conditions that would prevent them from returning in the fall,” Brabrand said.

Staff photo by Jay Westcott, slides via FCPS

More than 100 private health care providers in Fairfax County are currently going through the steps to be able to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the public soon, county officials tells Reston Now and Tysons Reporter.

This includes private practices, clinics, and urgent care centers.

This comes on the heels of the county’s announcement late last week that this was set to happen in the coming weeks.

“The process to become approved to administer COVID-19 vaccine requires several steps,” writes a County Health Department spokesperson, “That starts with filing an intent form with VDH, completing a CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Agreement and completing the Fairfax County Health Department’s compliance check.

Of those 100 plus private health care providers, approximately 35 are in the process of completing the Fairfax County Health Department’s compliance check. The timeline for completion differs for each provider, notes a spokesperson.

A “handful” of private providers have completed all of the steps and can now offer the COVID-19 vaccine to their patients. Health Department officials declined to provide an exact number or name of the providers.

Providers won’t be able to choose a specific COVID-19 vaccine to offer to their patients, since vaccine availability is dependent on what the county receives from the Commonwealth.

“We know many residents in our community will be excited to hear that their own health care providers may soon offer vaccine,” Fairfax County Health Department’s Director of Health Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu wrote in the health department’s blog post. “However, we do encourage residents to be patient while more practices meet the state requirements. Once a provider is able to offer vaccine, they will notify their patients directly.”

The county is also asking residents if they do receive the vaccine from a private provider and previously registered with the county’s health department to remove themselves from the waitlist.

In recent weeks, Fairfax County has begun to diversify where residents are able to get their COVID-19 vaccine.

This includes retail pharmacies, including CVS, Walgreens, Safeway, and Harris Teeter. Giant is directly partnering with the county to vaccinate off the their waitlist. However, appointments still remain scarce at the retail pharmacies.

In general, vaccinations in the county are moving at a faster pace than last month.

But the county is still struggling to catch up to demand after being the only jurisdiction to opt out of Virginia’s appointment system, with 104,000 people on the waitlist of 326,000 currently registered.

So far, the county had 267,000 people receive at least one dose of the vaccine, about 23% of the county’s total population. About half of those have been administered by the health department.

Appointments are currently being scheduled for those who signed up on January 28 or earlier.

Photo by Karen Bolt/Fairfax County Public Schools

Fairfax County officials are meeting tomorrow (March 16) to discuss two programs aimed at helping small businesses recover from the pandemic.

The “Pivot Grant” will be smaller amounts of money given to a larger group of businesses with the aim of supporting them as they continue to operate. The intended effect is to “mitigate… business closures” due to not being able to afford operational costs.

Proposed funding needed for these grants is about $13.5 million.

The hoped-for timeline, according to pre-meeting materials, is to get the grant approved by the Board of Supervisors in April or May, open applications in May or June, and grant monies actually go out to businesses in June or July.

The “Thrive Program” will provide technical assistance and counseling to entrepreneurs and businesses trying to grow.

As opposed to individual businesses, providers would apply for this and they would assist businesses. $500,000 is being proposed as the amount given to each provider. That program could launch in the summer and run through the year.

According to research, three industries with highest job losses in the county through December – not surprisingly and similar to September – are hospitality and food service, health care, and retail. They make up more than 50% of the jobs lost in Fairfax County.

A recent survey also suggested that 93% of small businesses would use any additional money provided towards operating expenses and rent/mortgage support.

In November, research was also presented that showed the greatest economic impact of the pandemic has been in the Falls Church, Annandale, and Baileys Crossroads areas.

Those areas as well have the highest concentration of COVID-19 cases in the county and the highest share of communities of color.

A number of specific recommendations and proposals are also being discussed. They include:

• Launching a “Buy local” marketing campaign focused on goods made in the county and minority-owned businesses.
• Setting up an online permitting process aimed at alterations to keep businesses open.
• Advocating for state legislation that prioritizes local purchasing.
• Expanding access to affordable child-care, housing, and internet service for workers and their families.
• Strengthening job and training programs by piloting a neighborhood job center.
• Leveraging county to hire local workers for pandemic recovery efforts.
• Starting a “Local Business Marketplace Pilot”

These discussions are taking place at the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Economic Initiative Committee public meeting. It starts at 9:30 a.m. and will be streamed online.

The COVID-19 vaccination process has been ramping up in Fairfax County in recent weeks, as supplies increase and more partners come on board to help administer the vaccines.

While eligibility for the vaccine has not expanded since mid-January, Fairfax County’s allocation of vaccine has grown over the past month or so from 13,000 to 19,220 first doses per week, and the size of shipments are expected to continue increasing throughout March, allowing the county health department to get through its existing waitlist more quickly.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday (Thursday), more than 111,000 people were waiting for appointments to get vaccinated. A total of 307,659 people have registered through the Fairfax County Health Department, which administered 21,791 first doses during the week of March 1-7.

The authorization of a third vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson helps increase supply, giving providers another option on top of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that have been available since December, according to the Fairfax County Health Department.

Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which both require two shots separated by three or four weeks, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine needs only one dose. It is also easier to store and seems to less apt to trigger strong side effects.

The J&J vaccine is slightly less effective at guarding against severe disease caused by COVID-19, with an 85% efficacy rate compared to 95% and 94.1% for Pfizer and Moderna, respectively. However, differences in how clinical trials were conducted make comparisons inexact, and all three are considered “extremely effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death,” FCHD says.

Fairfax County currently doesn’t offer a choice between the vaccines, since the health department has been primarily utilizing Pfizer for first doses. The county has been sending its J&J allocation to Inova, which expects to double its capacity later this month with the launch of a new mass vaccination center in Alexandria.

The FCHD says it anticipates starting to use the J&J vaccine by the end of March, though the number of doses is unknown at this time. For now, officials say people should take whichever vaccine becomes available to them.

If you were given a choice, though, which would you prefer? Would you want to get the process over with in one shot, or do you have more confidence in the two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines?

Staff photo by Jay Westcott

(Updated at 11:05 am on 3/12/21)  The Fairfax County Health Department decided to send their initial allotment of 3,800 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to local Inova hospitals, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The county’s allotment comes from the Commonwealth’s current supply of 69,000 doses that it received from the federal government last week.

Fairfax County Health Department spokesperson Jeremy Lasich confirms this and tells Reston Now that the county sent its J&J vaccine doses to Inova, because the county currently only has the capacity to give out a certain amount of doses. As supply picks up, the county will rely more on partners like Inova.

The hospital system is planning to use this supply for a vaccination clinic for residents 75 and over, Lasich says.

Nearly 110,00 Fairfax County residents remain on the waitlist for a vaccine appointment, though the pace of vaccinations has been picking up, according to the county’s dashboard, which indicates that residents who registered on Jan. 22 are now able to make appointments.

The county did say they expect to receive a fresh supply of J&J vaccine doses by the end of March. It’s unknown at this time exactly how many doses, Lasich says.

Additionally, a number of pharmacies in Fairfax County received the J&J vaccine through the federal partnership program, the Virginia Department of Health confirms to Reston Now.

The health department for nearby Arlington County opted to allocate 1,500 doses of the J&J vaccine for a mass vaccination event this past weekend.

D.C. got doses of the J&J vaccine that were used at high-capacity vaccination sites last week. The city is also asking residents which of the three available vaccines they’d prefer when they pre-register. A city official said on Twitter that it’s for data collection to understand demand.

However, Fairfax County is not asking this question or providing a vaccine option because it is “primarily using Pfizer for first-dose appointments right now.”

Lasich says that this is a change from earlier in the year, when the county health department was primarily using Moderna. Exactly which vaccine is used depends on the amount of doses received, he notes.

There’s evidence that some prefer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one-shot, rather than the two shots needed for both Pfizer’s and Moderna. This potentially could simplify and quicken the pace of vaccination.

In addition to lowering the commitment from patients, the J&J vaccine is easier to store, and it appears that recipients have been less prone to severe side effects.

One potential drawback to the J&J vaccine is that trials have shown that it is less effective than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at preventing illness, though it still has an 85% efficacy against severe forms of COVID-19 and 100% efficacy against hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Even though that means it still offers strong protection, health officials are putting a lot of effort in convincing people that the J&J vaccine is not the “inferior” vaccine.

VDH tells Reston Now that it expects the J&J vaccine to make up close to 20% of the state’s supply in April, increasing to about 30% in May.

In Fairfax County, conversations are ongoing about giving registrants the option to choose which vaccine they will receive, but it will all depend on supply availability.

“The best vaccine is the one available to you at the appointment,” says Lasich.

In Fairfax County, though, that isn’t yet the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Updated to further clarify that the initial allotment of J&J doses sent to the county are going to Inova hospitals, which is a partner of the county.