JUST IN: Tysons mass vaccine site will add evening hours next week before closing on June 26

(Updated at 6:20 p.m.) The mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic that opened at Tysons Corner Center in April will close on June 26, the Fairfax County Health Department announced today (Friday).

Before then, the community vaccination center (CVC) will expand its hours of operation into the evening starting on Tuesday (June 8). The new hours will be 8:30-5:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Extended evening hours two nights a week expands access to obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine for those who are unable to visit during the day,” the county health department said.

Located in the mall’s former Lord & Taylor store, the Tysons CVC was Fairfax County’s first large-scale site for delivering COVID-19 vaccinations. It was organized by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Virginia Department of Health, with the county health department and emergency management office providing support.

According to county officials, the site can accommodate about 3,000 people per day. It primarily utilizes the Pfizer vaccine, which is available to everyone 12 and older, but individuals 18 and older can also request the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The clinic is now open for walk-ins, and Fairfax Health District residents can also schedule an appointment through the health department’s Vaccine Administration Management System or by calling the call center at 703-324-7404.

When asked for comment about the decision to close the Tysons CVC later this month, a county health department spokesperson advised Tysons Reporter to contact VDH instead, since the site is state-run.

Virginia health officials have said in recent weeks that the state is starting to shift away from mass vaccine sites as supplies have become more widely available at primary care providers, pharmacies, and other locations. The vaccination campaign will now focus more on community-based clinics that can target specific populations that might have less access to the vaccine or be more reluctant to accept it.

A VDH spokesperson confirmed that the department is closing the Tysons CVC as part of a general transition away from large events and toward smaller, mobile, pop-up clinics, a reaction to declining demand at community clinics over the past several weeks.

“These smaller mobile clinics will enable VDH and its providers to get into neighborhoods, schools, churches, barbershops, and similar venues where people congregate in their daily lives,” VDH said in a statement. “At this point in the vaccination campaign, the keywords are “convenience” and “accessibility” — making getting a vaccine as convenient as possible and accessible as possible to as many people as possible.”

The Tysons CVC played “a key role” in vaccinating Fairfax County and Northern Virginia residents against COVID-19, VDH says, adding that 42,075 vaccine doses have been administered at the site as of June 3.

Fairfax County has surpassed the federal goal of getting at least one vaccine dose to 70% of all adults by July 4. As of today, 76.8% of adult residents and 58.7% of the overall Fairfax Health District population have received at least one dose, and 62.2% of adults — or 47.6% of all residents — are fully vaccinated, according to the FCHD dashboard.