Health Department

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

Kristy Mattey The School Health Division is pleased to announce the inaugural winner of the new School Health Aide of the Year award for the 2023-24 school year. Implemented this year, the award recognizes an exemplary School Health Aide who has demonstrated excellent health room practices, exceptional customer service, extraordinary teamwork, and contributions linked to the vision, mission, and values of the Health Department. This year’s School Health Aide of the Year awardee is Kristy Mattey who was assigned to Daniels Run Elementary School and now works at Frost Middle School. Kristy was nominated by her supervisor JeanHee Jeong. School Health Aides are trained paraprofessionals assigned to work in the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) health rooms during school hours. School Health Aides provide care for illness or injury, help to ensure students take medications appropriately, coordinate vision and hearing health screenings for students, respond to health emergencies, and monitor student absence data. Kristy serves as a coach for new School Health Aide hires; pays meticulous attention to detail; exhibits high organizational skills; and ensures health room care cards and screening results are well documented. Kristy, who has worked as a School Health Aide for 2.5 years, is being recognized for taking initiative and continuously seeking ways to improve. For example, Kristy proposed the idea of documenting puff counts for the inhaler [a medical device used by students with asthma to help open airways] and developed a FCPS Inhaler Administration Chart, which was implemented. The new Inhaler Administration Chart not only enhances accurate documentation, but it also makes the number of priming readily accessible on the chart which can impact the proper administration of the student’s inhaler. Furthermore, Kristy suggested to the school administrator at her school to add a Hearing and Vision screening in the Welcome Tour for the new students. By collaborating with the school counselor, Kristy was able to successfully implement the new process to create a more proactive approach in identifying any potential barriers to learning, create less disturbance for the teachers, and less learning interruption for the students. She demonstrates a strong understanding of school health policies and protocols by keeping up to date and inspires others by consistently going above and beyond. “I am honored to receive the School Health Aide of the Year award and appreciate the continued support of my peers and leaders,” said Kristy. “Working for the Health Department has shown me the importance of bridging the gap between the community and the school system to keep our students safe and healthy and I couldn't be prouder to be part of the amazing School Health team who set out every day to make that difference.”  Learn more about FCPS' school health services and sign up to receive the FCPS Wellness Newsletter.