diff --git a/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.c b/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.c
index 92d1d827800f..9da457c9cc42 100644
--- a/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.c
+++ b/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.c
@@ -1170,7 +1170,7 @@ static void handle_io_error(struct vdo_completion *completion)
 
 	vio_record_metadata_io_error(vio);
 	return_vio_to_pool(vio_as_pooled_vio(vio));
-	slab->active_count--;
+	slab->active_count -= vio->io_size / VDO_BLOCK_SIZE;
 	vdo_enter_read_only_mode(slab->allocator->depot->vdo, result);
 	check_if_slab_drained(slab);
 }
@@ -2239,13 +2239,20 @@ static void finish_reference_block_load(struct vdo_completion *completion)
 	struct pooled_vio *pooled = vio_as_pooled_vio(vio);
 	struct reference_block *block = completion->parent;
 	struct vdo_slab *slab = block->slab;
+	unsigned int block_count = vio->io_size / VDO_BLOCK_SIZE;
+	unsigned int i;
+	char *data = vio->data;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < block_count; i++, block++, data += VDO_BLOCK_SIZE) {
+		struct packed_reference_block *packed = (struct packed_reference_block *) data;
 
-	unpack_reference_block((struct packed_reference_block *) vio->data, block);
+		unpack_reference_block(packed, block);
+		clear_provisional_references(block);
+		slab->free_blocks -= block->allocated_count;
+	}
 	return_vio_to_pool(pooled);
-	slab->active_count--;
-	clear_provisional_references(block);
+	slab->active_count -= block_count;
 
-	slab->free_blocks -= block->allocated_count;
 	check_if_slab_drained(slab);
 }
 
@@ -2259,23 +2266,25 @@ static void load_reference_block_endio(struct bio *bio)
 }
 
 /**
- * load_reference_block() - After a block waiter has gotten a VIO from the VIO pool, load the
- *                          block.
- * @waiter: The waiter of the block to load.
+ * load_reference_block_group() - After a block waiter has gotten a VIO from the VIO pool, load
+ *                                a set of blocks.
+ * @waiter: The waiter of the first block to load.
  * @context: The VIO returned by the pool.
  */
-static void load_reference_block(struct vdo_waiter *waiter, void *context)
+static void load_reference_block_group(struct vdo_waiter *waiter, void *context)
 {
 	struct pooled_vio *pooled = context;
 	struct vio *vio = &pooled->vio;
 	struct reference_block *block =
 		container_of(waiter, struct reference_block, waiter);
-	size_t block_offset = (block - block->slab->reference_blocks);
+	u32 block_offset = block - block->slab->reference_blocks;
+	u32 max_block_count = block->slab->reference_block_count - block_offset;
+	u32 block_count = min_t(int, vio->block_count, max_block_count);
 
 	vio->completion.parent = block;
-	vdo_submit_metadata_vio(vio, block->slab->ref_counts_origin + block_offset,
-				load_reference_block_endio, handle_io_error,
-				REQ_OP_READ);
+	vdo_submit_metadata_vio_with_size(vio, block->slab->ref_counts_origin + block_offset,
+					  load_reference_block_endio, handle_io_error,
+					  REQ_OP_READ, block_count * VDO_BLOCK_SIZE);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -2285,14 +2294,21 @@ static void load_reference_block(struct vdo_waiter *waiter, void *context)
 static void load_reference_blocks(struct vdo_slab *slab)
 {
 	block_count_t i;
+	u64 blocks_per_vio = slab->allocator->refcount_blocks_per_big_vio;
+	struct vio_pool *pool = slab->allocator->refcount_big_vio_pool;
+
+	if (!pool) {
+		pool = slab->allocator->vio_pool;
+		blocks_per_vio = 1;
+	}
 
 	slab->free_blocks = slab->block_count;
 	slab->active_count = slab->reference_block_count;
-	for (i = 0; i < slab->reference_block_count; i++) {
+	for (i = 0; i < slab->reference_block_count; i += blocks_per_vio) {
 		struct vdo_waiter *waiter = &slab->reference_blocks[i].waiter;
 
-		waiter->callback = load_reference_block;
-		acquire_vio_from_pool(slab->allocator->vio_pool, waiter);
+		waiter->callback = load_reference_block_group;
+		acquire_vio_from_pool(pool, waiter);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -2699,6 +2715,7 @@ static void finish_scrubbing(struct slab_scrubber *scrubber, int result)
 			vdo_log_info("VDO commencing normal operation");
 		else if (prior_state == VDO_RECOVERING)
 			vdo_log_info("Exiting recovery mode");
+		free_vio_pool(vdo_forget(allocator->refcount_big_vio_pool));
 	}
 
 	/*
@@ -3990,6 +4007,7 @@ static int __must_check initialize_block_allocator(struct slab_depot *depot,
 	struct vdo *vdo = depot->vdo;
 	block_count_t max_free_blocks = depot->slab_config.data_blocks;
 	unsigned int max_priority = (2 + ilog2(max_free_blocks));
+	u32 reference_block_count, refcount_reads_needed, refcount_blocks_per_vio;
 
 	*allocator = (struct block_allocator) {
 		.depot = depot,
@@ -4013,6 +4031,18 @@ static int __must_check initialize_block_allocator(struct slab_depot *depot,
 	if (result != VDO_SUCCESS)
 		return result;
 
+	/* Initialize the refcount-reading vio pool. */
+	reference_block_count = vdo_get_saved_reference_count_size(depot->slab_config.slab_blocks);
+	refcount_reads_needed = DIV_ROUND_UP(reference_block_count, MAX_BLOCKS_PER_VIO);
+	refcount_blocks_per_vio = DIV_ROUND_UP(reference_block_count, refcount_reads_needed);
+	allocator->refcount_blocks_per_big_vio = refcount_blocks_per_vio;
+	result = make_vio_pool(vdo, BLOCK_ALLOCATOR_REFCOUNT_VIO_POOL_SIZE,
+			       allocator->refcount_blocks_per_big_vio, allocator->thread_id,
+			       VIO_TYPE_SLAB_JOURNAL, VIO_PRIORITY_METADATA,
+			       NULL, &allocator->refcount_big_vio_pool);
+	if (result != VDO_SUCCESS)
+		return result;
+
 	result = initialize_slab_scrubber(allocator);
 	if (result != VDO_SUCCESS)
 		return result;
@@ -4230,6 +4260,7 @@ void vdo_free_slab_depot(struct slab_depot *depot)
 		uninitialize_allocator_summary(allocator);
 		uninitialize_scrubber_vio(&allocator->scrubber);
 		free_vio_pool(vdo_forget(allocator->vio_pool));
+		free_vio_pool(vdo_forget(allocator->refcount_big_vio_pool));
 		vdo_free_priority_table(vdo_forget(allocator->prioritized_slabs));
 	}
 
diff --git a/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.h b/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.h
index f234853501ca..fadc0c9d4dc4 100644
--- a/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.h
+++ b/drivers/md/dm-vdo/slab-depot.h
@@ -45,6 +45,13 @@
 enum {
 	/* The number of vios in the vio pool is proportional to the throughput of the VDO. */
 	BLOCK_ALLOCATOR_VIO_POOL_SIZE = 128,
+
+	/*
+	 * The number of vios in the vio pool used for loading reference count data. A slab's
+	 * refcounts is capped at ~8MB, and we process one at a time in a zone, so 9 should be
+	 * plenty.
+	 */
+	BLOCK_ALLOCATOR_REFCOUNT_VIO_POOL_SIZE = 9,
 };
 
 /*
@@ -248,7 +255,7 @@ struct vdo_slab {
 
 	/* A list of the dirty blocks waiting to be written out */
 	struct vdo_wait_queue dirty_blocks;
-	/* The number of blocks which are currently writing */
+	/* The number of blocks which are currently reading or writing */
 	size_t active_count;
 
 	/* A waiter object for updating the slab summary */
@@ -425,6 +432,10 @@ struct block_allocator {
 
 	/* The vio pool for reading and writing block allocator metadata */
 	struct vio_pool *vio_pool;
+	/* The vio pool for large initial reads of ref count areas */
+	struct vio_pool *refcount_big_vio_pool;
+	/* How many ref count blocks are read per vio at initial load */
+	u32 refcount_blocks_per_big_vio;
 	/* The dm_kcopyd client for erasing slab journals */
 	struct dm_kcopyd_client *eraser;
 	/* Iterator over the slabs to be erased */
