Fairfax County opted out of Virginia’s new statewide COVID-19 vaccine pre-registration system to reduce confusion, but the decision seems to have had the opposite effect for some county residents.

The Virginia Department of Health told Reston Now, Tysons Reporter’s affiliate site, that on Wednesday (Feb. 17), the day after the launch, the statewide COVID information line received 542 calls from Fairfax County zip codes asking questions about vaccines that were rerouted back to the county’s call center.

When asked about this, the Fairfax County Health Department acknowledged the potential for confusion.

“We understand that it could still be confusing that there are two systems,” wrote Jeremy Lasich, spokesperson for the Fairfax County Health Department. “We are happy that we have a strong partnership with VDH and that their call center is appropriately routing questions about Fairfax County back to our local call center.”

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay told Tysons Reporter last week that the county had decided to forgo the Virginia appointment system in favor of its own existing system to “cut down on confusion.”

Reston Now reached out to the Chairman’s office with the information from VDH but has yet to hear back as of publication.

Fairfax County is the only jurisdiction in Virginia to opt-out of the state COVID-19 vaccine pre- registration system.

The county maintains that they are “consistently” communicating the need to register through their system through their website, blog, social media, and other avenues.

This includes translating COVID-related materials into Spanish and sharing information via text messages from the Health Department’s outreach team.

VDH has also added language to their website directing Fairfax County residents back to the appropriate portal.

If Fairfax County residents do end up registering through the state system, the information will end up eventually going back to the county, but those residents will be added to the end of the waitlist, the county explains in a newly published blog post.

If residents register in both the state and county systems, the first registration will be honored and the second one will be removed.

Over the last several weeks, the vaccine rollout across Fairfax County, Virginia, and the D.C. region has continued to be plagued with technical issues, equity concerns, and logistical challenges.

The county is currently in “Phase 1b”, meaning they are offering vaccine registration for all residents 65 years or older as well as those between 16 and 64 years old with underlying medical conditions.

Some essential workers are also in the process of getting vaccinated, including health care personnel, childcare workers, and K-12 teachers or staff members living or working in the county.

Fairfax County now has a registration status checker for people to see their eligibility, and residents can sign up for an appointment through the county’s vaccine registration page. Fairfax County residents can also call 703-324-7404 for more information.

According to the county’s new data dashboard, those who registered on January 18 — the first day it was open to those in Phase 1b — are now being scheduled for appointments.

More than 42,000 people signed up that day, nearly four times as many people as Jan. 11, the next busiest day for registrations, the county health department says.

The county expects it will take “several weeks” for all those that registered on Jan. 18 to get a scheduled appointment.

It may appear as if progress isn’t being made when the appointment date on the dashboard isn’t changing, but the health department is moving through registrations, Lasich told Reston Now.

“We continue to ask for your patience,” he said. “We promise you will get an appointment if you are on our list.”

Photo via Fairfax County Health Department

A new bill could potentially significantly limit how long the Fairfax County Police Department and other state police departments can store data obtained through automated license plate readers (ALPRs).

As originally written, SB 1198 would bar police from storing data obtained by ALPRs for more than 30 days without a warrant or ongoing active investigation.

ALPRs can collect data and information like photos of license plates as well as a driver’s location at a particular date and time. They are often mounted on street poles, overpasses, or police square cars. A central server houses the data.

Privacy advocates and civil liberties organizations have criticized the technology for chilling First Amendment-protected activity and privacy concerns.

The Virginia State Supreme Court ruled late last year that police departments are allowed to keep this data “indefinitely,” no warrant or investigation needed. This came after a Fairfax County judge ruled otherwise in 2019, saying that the data collection was in violation of Virginia’s “Data Act.”

While some jurisdictions do purge this data relatively quickly, the Fairfax County Police Department does not.

Tysons Reporter’s affiliate site, Reston Now, has confirmed that FCPD stores information collected by ALPRs for up to a year.

Their reasoning is that the information helps protect the community and locate missing persons.

“Using technology such as license plate recognition has improved our ability to safeguard Fairfax County,” FCPD spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told Reston Now in a statement. “With that, we have stringent systems in place to protect the information privacy and constitutional rights of those we serve. We appreciate efforts to further study this important issue because it’s paramount that we strike an equitable balance between data retention and investigational integrity.”

The state bill was introduced by State Sen. Chap Petersen who represents the 34th district, which covers Fairfax, Vienna, Oakton, and parts of Chantilly.

He introduced a similar bill back in 2014 and 2015, which limited storage of data to only seven days. That 2015 bill, which had bipartisan support, was vetoed by Governor Terry McAuliffe.

“License plate readers…capture the movement of vehicles. They track who’s attending a church service, who’s attending a political rally, a gun show,” Petersen told Reston Now. “It can be very arbitrary and very dangerous in that…it’s used to essentially put a layer of surveillance over citizens who are exercising their constitutional rights.” Read More

Last week marked Interim Fairfax County Police Chief David M. Rohrer’s first days on the job.

According to Sergeant Hudson Bull of Fairfax County Police Department, Rohrer’s top priorities will be providing a smooth transition to the next police chief and ensuring “community safety.”

Responding directly to reports of low morale and continued skepticism of leadership among rank-and-file officers, Bull noted that the new interim chief is working to dispel this notion.

“Chief Rohrer wants to make sure that community members, county employees, and officers are confident in the leadership of the department,” Bull told Tysons Reporter’s affiliate site, Reston Now. “[He’s] focused on listening to officers and moving the department forward…Chief Rohrer is thankful for officers’ dedication and professionalism during these challenging times.”

FCPD declined requests for a phone interview with Rohrer, saying that Rohrer is focusing on “providing a smooth transition for the next chief of police.”

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors selected Rohrer to take over for retiring Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler on Jan. 27.

This isn’t new territory for Rohrer. He previously served as the Fairfax County Police Department’s chief from 2004 to 2012, when he was promoted to deputy county executive overseeing public safety. In that position, he oversees the department, which consists of about 1,400 police officers, as well as the fire and rescue department and other county public safety agencies.

He will remain deputy county executive even as he takes on this new responsibility.

“I work closely with Deputy County Executive Rohrer on a daily basis and I could not be more confident in his ability to see the Police Department through this period while we search for a new chief,” Fairfax County Executive Bryan J. Hill wrote in a statement to The Washington Post late last month.

Rohrer’s personality and management style, in 2012, was described as deliberate, not “flamboyant,” and hard-working.

While Rohrer’s second tenure as police chief may be brief, it comes at a time when the department is in the midst of significant change.

During his eight years as chief, Roessler implemented nearly 200 reform efforts including body-worn cameras for all officers, a citizen review panel, de-escalation training, and a diversion program for people with mental health challenges. Much of this was done in the wake of the 2013 fatal police shooting of an unarmed Springfield man.

However, efforts to reform the FCPD has gotten some pushback from rank-and-file officers. That tension became particularly acute after an officer was arrested for assault over the summer for using a stun gun and unnecessary force on a Black man who did not appear to be combative.

FCPD spokesperson Sergeant Hudson Bull wrote to Reston Now that Rohrer is prioritizing continuing the county’s reputation as being safe.

“Chief Rohrer wants to focus on ensuring that our County remains one of the safest jurisdictions in the country by supporting our officers and remaining attentive to the needs of our community members,” he wrote.

Bull says Rohrer’s experience and institutional knowledge made him a perfect fit for this temporary job as a nationwide search for a permanent replacement for Roessler continues. The Board of Supervisors is expected to announce its selection in late March or early April.

“The Chief’s vast experience in public safety provides him with insight and knowledge to be able to make the best possible decisions regarding important public safety matters for our community,” Bull wrote. “His long tenure with Fairfax County gives him intimate knowledge of the public safety function that is provided within our county government.”

As reported yesterday, Fairfax County Police Department deployed officers to D.C. to assist law enforcement agencies in quelling the U.S. Capitol riots started by a mob of Trump supporters .

Reportedly more than 50 officers were injured, several seriously.

But no police officers from Fairfax County were among those that were injured seriously yesterday, and all of the deployed officers returned to the county last night, a spokesperson for the police department tells Reston Now, Tysons Reporter’s sister site.

Arlington County Police Department also sent officers to D.C. yesterday and reported no serious injuries. ACPD sent officers to help D.C. Police again today.

Meanwhile, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner was asked if residents in the region, particularly those in Fairfax and Arlington counties, should have concerns about similar incidents on Inauguration Day.

“That’s absolutely a fair question,” he said. “I pray that it will not take place.”

Warner said that having to lockdown for major events and debates at the U.S. Capitol all the time going forward is not fair to those who live and work in the region.

He says that law enforcement needs a better plan and there needs to be responsible leadership in both parties. He thinks that will happen over the next two weeks.

“I have enormous confidence that we will get through this,” he said.

Both Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine joined calls for Vice President Mike Pence or the U.S. cabinet to invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment, which allows Congress to remove the president from office if he is declared unable to discharge the office’s duties.

The sun is up on a new day. But there must be accountability for yesterday:

The Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment against Trump. If he wants to challenge, Congress should vote him out.

Congress should inform Trump that he is not welcome at the inauguration.

— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) January 7, 2021

This president is unfit to remain in office for the next 2 weeks. Every minute he’s in power, he continues to be a threat to our security. It’s time for the 25th Amendment.

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) January 7, 2021

FCPD says that it does not anticipate needing to provide assistance during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, which will take place on Jan. 20.

Photo via FCPD

Fairfax County police will not send officers to D.C. to assist with the First Amendment demonstrations set to take place tomorrow, police department spokesperson Sergeant Greg Bedor confirmed to Reston Now, Tysons Reporter’s sister site.

The region is anticipating thousands of Trump supporters to descend on the region to protest Wednesday’s Congressional certification of the presidential election. Since November, the president has made numerous unproven claims that the election was stolen.

Over the last several weeks, he’s also repeatedly encouraged supporters via social media to protest on January 6. One such tweet in December said, “Be there, be wild.” He even said he would be there himself.

Previous rallies in November and December both ended in violence, particularly after sunset.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay issued a statement yesterday advising residents to avoid the downtown area and to not engage with people potentially looking to incite violence. Arlington County has also disencouraged residents from going to D.C. to counter-protest.

Fairfax County police, along with a number of other local jurisdictions, have traditionally had mutual aid agreements in place with D.C. police, in case situations arise where help is needed.

However, Bedor says that he does not expect FCPD to be called into D.C. tomorrow. “The [D.C.] Mayor has arranged for other support, so our understanding [is] that’s been covered,” he says.

That other support is a reference to the D.C. National Guard being activated to provide traffic control and crowd management.