Health Department

The Fairfax County Health Department has published a new Respiratory Illness Dashboard to help residents stay informed about the prevalence and trends of respiratory viruses in the Fairfax Health District. This tool offers real-time updates and data on various respiratory illnesses such as flu, COVID-19, and RSV.  The dashboard provides an accessible, easy to use platform where users can track local respiratory illness activity, compare data across multiple weeks, and view charts that display outbreaks and emergency department and urgent care visits related to respiratory diseases. Outbreaks are reported by facility type, including child care, schools, long-term care facilities, and other settings. Emergency department and urgent care visits are broken down by age group.   In addition to data on the dashboard, the Health Department highlights ways everyone can reduce their risk of getting or spreading a respiratory infection.  The dashboard comes at a critical time as October 1 marked the start of the CDC-defined respiratory disease season. Residents are encouraged to visit the Respiratory Illness Dashboard regularly to stay updated on respiratory illness activity as well as prevention strategies.  We urge everyone to build healthy habits to prevent respiratory illnesses now as we look ahead to the fall and winter months:  Stay Up to Date with Recommended Immunizations Stay home when you are sick Wash your hands — often Cover your coughs and sneezes Clean surfaces regularly and avoid touching your face Take steps for cleaner air Visit our webpage and follow us on social media for updates on this and other health topics. 

Pet vaccination at Fairfax County Animal Shelter World Rabies Day is observed on September 28 to raise awareness on how we can prevent this deadly disease in animals and humans. Rabies is a viral disease that infects the central nervous system. The virus can spread to humans and pets through bites or scratches from an infected animal. Rabies is nearly 100 percent fatal in mammals, including humans. In the United States, rabies is mostly found in wild animals, such as bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. But worldwide, domestic dogs are responsible for more than 95 percent of the human deaths that occur from rabies each year. Fortunately, rabies is preventable. Thanks to prevention efforts in the United States, more than 40 million cats and dogs are vaccinated against rabies each year. Vaccinating your pet against rabies significantly reduces the risk of you or your pet getting infected. Speak with your veterinarian to make sure your pet is up to date on all important pet vaccinations, including rabies. The Fairfax County Animal Shelter also offers low-cost rabies vaccine and microchip clinics twice a month at both of their clinic locations: Michael R. Frey Campus - 4500 West Ox Road, Fairfax, VA 22030 Lorton Campus - 8875 Lorton Road, Lorton, VA 22079 Protect Against Animal Bites To protect you and your pet’s health, it is important to take steps if you or your pet were bitten or scratched by an animal. Immediately wash the wound thoroughly and seek medical attention. Report the bite by calling Fairfax County Animal Protection Police at 703-691-2131. For questions or concerns about rabies exposures call the Health Department’s Rabies Program specialists at 703-246-2433. Learn more about the Fairfax County Animal Shelter low-cost vaccine and microchip clinics. Find more information about rabies.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine for the 2024-2025 respiratory season is recommended by the CDC and will be available soon. Getting this vaccine can decrease your chances of getting sick. It also helps protect you from getting very sick and can lower your risk of having long-lasting symptoms. Who should get it? Everyone ages 6 months and older should get the updated COVID-19 vaccine. It's especially important for people at higher risk, like older adults, pregnant people, those with disabilities, and anyone with a weaker immune system. When should I get vaccinated? When you should get vaccinated depends on your situation. Protection is strongest in the several months after you get vaccinated. If you recently had COVID-19, you can choose to wait 3 months before getting the updated vaccine. This lets you take advantage of the natural protection you got from the infection and stretch out your immunity through winter. If you haven’t had COVID-19 recently, you can choose to get it now for extra protection during the current summer wave, or you can choose to wait until later in September or October to provide more protection for the winter and holiday season. If you choose to wait, you can take extra precautions to protect yourself when COVID-19 is spreading in your community. If you have a weakened immune system, you may need more than one dose. This means you can get one now and another one later when protection begins to fade. Can I get COVID-19 and flu shots at the same time? Yes. COVID-19 and flu vaccinations can be safely given at the same time. Why is there an updated COVID-19 vaccine each year? Just like the flu, the virus that causes COVID-19 changes over time. Each year an updated vaccine is made to target the latest versions of the virus that are making people sick. Getting the updated vaccine will help protect you better against the current version of the virus. Also, protection against COVID-19 from previous vaccinations decreases over time. Are COVID-19 vaccines safe? Hundreds of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been safely administered. Serious adverse events have been very rare. By the end of 2022, COVID-19 prevented an estimated 18.5 million hospitalizations and 3.2 million deaths. Where can I get vaccinated? Like the annual flu vaccine, the updated COVID-19 vaccine will be available at pharmacies, medical providers, and grocery stores and will be covered by health insurance. Uninsured individuals can get low cost or no cost vaccine at their local health department or community clinics. See where to get COVID-19 and flu vaccines at vaccines.gov. Additional resources Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Healthy Habits to Help Protect Against Respiratory Viruses Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines