Mass Covid vaccine sites in Tysons and Springfield to close this week

The Virginia and Fairfax County health departments are shutting down two COVID-19 vaccination sites that have delivered thousands of shots during the pandemic.

The Tysons Community Vaccination Center will close at 4 p.m. on Friday (March 25) after administering roughly 58,000 doses since it reopened in Tysons Corner Center’s former Lord & Taylor store on Oct. 8, the Fairfax County Health Department announced today (Monday).

With the capacity for 3,000 shots a day, the mass vaccination site was organized by the Virginia Department of Health and operated by contractors AshBritt Inc. and IEM Health. It was first established in April 2021 and provided more than 50,000 doses during Phase 2 of the state’s vaccination campaign before closing in June.

A vaccination site at Springfield Town Center will also wind down operations this week. The facility will open from noon to 4 p.m. for one final weekend before closing at 4 p.m. on Sunday (March 27).

Only open on weekends, the Springfield vaccine site was less extensive than the Tysons one, but it “has been critical in helping to close the equity gap” as part of the FCHD High Risk Communities Task Force’s efforts to address disparities in access for low-income and minority individuals, the county health department says.

The county partnered with Medical Reserve Corps volunteers and Safeway Pharmacy to open the site in April 2021. The space was provided rent-free by Springfield Town Center property manager PREIT.

“Due to the highly vaccinated population, decreased demand from the community, and ample supply of vaccine widely available at doctor’s offices and pharmacies, there was a diminished need for large-scale public vaccination sites,” an FCHD spokesperson said of the decision to close the site, adding that the department “is grateful” to PREIT for its generosity.

The vaccination rates for the Fairfax Health District, which includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church in addition to the county, are roughly in line with those for Virginia as a whole.

According to FCHD data, which is updated at 11:30 a.m. every weekday, 964,980 district residents, or 81.5%, have received at least one vaccine dose, including 90.6% of people 18 and older, as of Friday (March 18).

About 871,643 residents, or 73.6% of the population, are fully vaccinated, including 82.4% of adults.

Vaccines remain available at numerous sites throughout the county, including from pharmacies, private health care providers, and mass vaccination sites at the Fairfax County Government Center and Hyland South County Center.

“The Health Department is also continuing its outreach and collaborative work, with multiple community partners, to provide vaccinations clinics at sites across the county, including houses of worship, daycares, schools, businesses, and special events,” the FCHD spokesperson said.