Senior citizens over age 75 are next on the list to receive doses of Wayne County’s share of the COVID-19 vaccines, with essential frontline workers such as teachers first responders and other emergency personnel following soon after.
But some of those slated for the first round of inoculations — direct contact healthcare professionals — declined to take the vaccine.
County Health Director Dr. Brenda Weis told County Commissioners at their meeting Tuesday morning that the county is expected to receive roughly 800 doses of the vaccine in the next eight to nine days.
Those, plus doses left over from the first round, will be given to seniors over the age of 75 through a registration process and then actual appointments at the Health Department.
The vaccine is administered in two shots, spaced three to four weeks apart.
Weis said the first round of vaccinations — designated 1A by state guidelines — went to primary healthcare workers, or those who have direct contact with COVID patients who are at the highest risk of infection.
Job title did not determine inclusion on the list, she said.
Function was the guideline — so healthcare workers who clean rooms, technicians and others got first dibs on the doses designated for healthcare personnel.
Weis said creating vaccines has not been the problem.
“It is pretty phenomenal what they have done,” she said. “(Operation) Warp Speed worked.”
The problem now is getting the doses into the hands of local health departments.
“It is our job to figure out the logistics,” Weis said.
The vaccine is coming from three sources — Pfizer (the vaccine that has to be stored at extremely cold temperatures), Moderna (which also requires refrigeration) and AstraZeneca/Oxford.
“We got our first shipment right before Christmas,” Weis said.
The Pfizer vaccines so far have gone mostly to healthcare facilities, she said, because they have the storage capability.
Wayne County has received the Moderna vaccines, which have to be stored in cold as well, and must be thawed before use.
The AstraZeneca vaccine does not yet have widespread availability in the U.S., but Weis said she expects it to be distributed “soon.” She said she has heard that the AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at room temperature.
“I am praying we don’t get the Pfizer,” she added.
Weis said the problem is that the Health Department does not know when it will receive the vaccine doses.
“I usually get a day warning,” she said.
The Health Department has done 30 to 50 vaccinations a day but is prepared to go up to 100 a day with the personnel it has on hand.
Should the vaccine become available in larger quantities later this month, which Weis said she expects, the department might need some help getting those inoculations done.
Several community partners, including Harris Teeter, CVS and some local pharmacies, as well as the county Senior Center, have already volunteered to host shot clinics.
But when the vaccine arrives, Weis said the county has to be prepared with a list of people who meet the criteria for that round of dosing.
Each vial of vaccine contains 10 doses, Weis said.
And once a vial is thawed, it cannot be saved or refrozen.
So, if 30 people are scheduled to receive the vaccine and only 20 show up, the remaining 10 doses cannot be saved for another day.
“Once you open it, you have to use it,” Weis said.
With the first round of vaccine availability, the county saw some reluctance among frontline healthcare workers to take the inoculations, with some not showing up for appointments.
The health director said that while there is no data on why the workers chose not to take the vaccine, in general she and her staff have heard several reasons:
• They did not want to deal with any potential side effects over the holidays.
• They wanted to see what happened with those who got the first doses before deciding whether to take the shot.
• They did not trust the speed with which the vaccine was developed.
• They considered their risk low, and since they had avoided infection so far, decided to continue to take their chances.
Weis said should she have doses that are not claimed, she will administer them to those who have signed up and want them.
“We are not going to waste doses here,” she said.
The county has established a signup procedure for those who want to receive the vaccine.
Registration is currently available at two sites:
• Maxwell Center on Wednesday, Jan. 6, from 9 a.m. to noon, 250 to 300 doses.
• Senior Center on Thursday, Jan. 7, from 9 a.m. to noon, 250 to 300 doses.
A third site, in Mount Olive, is pending, starting Jan. 11, for the up to 300 remaining doses.
Police and traffic control will be in place to make sure registration goes smoothly, Weis said.
The actual vaccinations will be given at the Health Department from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
The priority designations for the groups have been set by the state. As the demand in each category is met, the next group will have the chance to sign up.
Weis said the designations are set now — as of Dec. 31 — but she added they could change on a dime as new directives come from the state and federal governments.
For instance, she said, right now, underlying conditions are not a category for receiving the vaccine.
“The new rubric doesn’t even mention them,” Weis said.
But the health director said the county has some limited leeway in dispensing the vaccine, even though there are strict guidelines and intense scrutiny of the procedures by which it is administered.
“If you come to me and you are 49 and you have underlying conditions, I am going to give you the shot,” she said.
Weis said although the first rounds of the vaccine that were offered to healthcare workers were not well-received, she said she expects the next round to be much different.
“We are going to have a lot of people (who want the vaccine), and we won’t have a lot of doses,” she said.
Weis said she hopes to hear that the county will receive doses in the thousands soon.
“If I get more vaccines, we might want to consider offsite (vaccination spots),” she said.
Getting the plan in place for registration and vaccinations is critical, she added.
“If I get 2,000 doses tomorrow, we are not waiting,” she said.
In response to a question from Commissioner Chris Gurley about who should take the vaccine, Weis said although not much is clear cut about COVID, getting the vaccination is a decision that should be made in consultation with a patient’s family doctor if there are other health concerns.
“We are seeing very low side effects,” she said. “But we do not know exactly how it affects other vaccinations or medications.”
COVID is still a mystery as well although health professionals are learning more and more every day.
“It is a novel virus for a reason,” Weis said.
She encourages county residents to take the vaccination — even if they have already had COVID-19.
“If you meet the criteria and you would like the vaccine, I would take it,” she said.
Commissioner Joe Daugherty asked whether the county has received financial assistance for administering the vaccine.
County Manager Craig Honeycutt said no, but added that Wayne County has held back some of its federal COVID-19 funding to offset the costs.
Budget and money will not interfere with getting the vaccine to residents as quickly as possible, Honeycutt said.
“We will spare no expense in getting these vaccines out as quickly as possible,” he said.
