Herndon Readers Share What It's Like To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

HERNDON, VA — Fairfax County Health Department officials briefed the Board of Supervisors Tuesday on the county's COVID-19 vaccination program.

During the briefing, Board Chairman Jeff McKay said Fairfax County has the infrastructure in place to ramp up distribution, but a the health department is hampered by the lack of availability of the vaccine.

While county residents wait for more vaccine to become available, many of those in the high priority groups, such as people 75 and older and Fairfax County teachers, have already been vaccinated.

Patch recently asked its readers to share their vaccination experiences on Neighbor Posts and Facebook. The following is a collection of responses from our readers in Herndon area.

"My wise wife suggested we go through our provider and Kaiser Permanente was great at handling the process," said Alex of Herndon. "We get our second shot next week."

Bettie Baca of Herndon also reported getting vaccinated through Kaiser.

"Husband and I got the first round last week at CVS," Herndon's Dayana Eyler said. "All went smoothly."

John Stevens, 75, and his wife, 77, received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Jan. 20. They are scheduled for their second dose on Feb. 17.

"The process went very smoothly," Stevens said. "We couldn't even feel the shot and the clinic used a timer for the monitoring time period. We experienced a little shoulder soreness which went away in a couple of days. We're relieved to be in the program and still plan to wear masks, practice social distancing and take every precaution to protect ourselves and everyone else."

JoAnne Norton, a 79-year-old Reston resident, preregistered online on Jan. 12 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. After receiving a message on Jan. 25 asking that she schedule an appointment, she was vaccinated at 10 a.m. on Jan. 27, at the Fairfax County Government Center.

"Absolutely, the most well managed combo of tech (messaging) and human systems (well planned out program with lots of cheery, personable personnel) that I have ever seen," she said. "Out by 11 a.m. with a 30-minute wait after shot to see if I was OK. Have faith those who have not gotten messages."

Reston's Mary Dunlop, who is in the over 75 age group, signed up for with her health care provider and the Fairfax Department of Health.

"I became eligible about two weeks ago," she said, on Jan. 25. "Since then, the Department of Health told me they ran out of the vaccine, but last week a friend in the next group to be eligible (65 - 75) received her first vaccine. That surprised me."

Dunlop later updated her comment, saying that she had scheduled an appointment for through her healthcare provider, Broadlands Family Practice at Brambleton.

"My twin sister and her husband received theirs on Saturday and were very pleased with the efficiency of the process," she said.

Mary Jones, a Fairfax County Public Schools employee, received her vaccine on Jan. 23. She signed up for the vaccination via a link provided by her employer and found the whole process to be very efficient.

Arriving early, Jones underwent an "ultra-fast" screening and had to stay in a monitoring area just in case there were adverse symptoms to the shot. She was also able to register for her second dose of the vaccine.

"The shot injection didn't hurt and I only had a little soreness in my arm the next day; not nearly as painful as other vaccinations," Jones said. "It was kind of stunning to see so many people there and rows and rows of health staff at desks with numbers on them, in a huge room, vaccinating people left and right. I wish I had taken a photo of it. It gave me hope that perhaps large numbers of people may be vaccinated quickly. I feel grateful to have received the vaccination and to feel safer somewhat safer about working indoors. I still intend to adhere to pandemic precautions, even after I get the second shot."

J McQ, a fellow FCPS employee, did not have as positive an experience as Jones. After being scheduled to be vaccinated on Jan. 23, Inova canceled the appointment.
"I’m not looking forward to signing up again because I don’t have another 7 hours to waste trying to register online," McQ said.

Nan Hart of Reston has found the process of getting vaccinated for COVID-19 to be very frustrating.
"My husband and I are both over 65, I have a high-risk condition and we both registered weeks ago," she said. "Got a standard message back and nada since. Meanwhile friends and family throughout the U.S. are getting it, many less qualified than us. Very frustrated with Virginia."

Sonia Valdes of Reston sympathized with Hart's plight.

"I totally understand," she said. "I am as angry as you are. If you check the Becker's Healthcare report (published daily), Virginia is dead last for vaccine distribution. It's shameful. And I wrote to the Hunter's Mill rep, Walter Alcorn, about this situation. He blamed it on the feds. Except the feds wouldn't be to blame for the distribution of vaccine already in State hands."

What was your experience receiving the COVID-19 vaccine? Share what it was like in the comments below.

Also see ...

Fairfax County Challenged By COVID-19 Vaccine Availability

Fairfax School Board Endorses New Return-To-School Timeline

CVS Plans To Offer Vaccine Appointments At Select Virginia Stores