VA. PREPS FOR VACCINE
Experts are skeptical about a fall release, but state health officials getting ready just in case
President Donald Trump’s declaration that a coronavirus vaccine could be ready as soon as November has been greeted with heavy skepticism. But in Virginia, public health officials are getting ready — just in case.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver has asked Virginia doctors and clinicians to brace for a possible Nov. 1 release, asking those interested in becoming vaccinators to sign up with the department so shots and other supplies can be shipped directly to their locations for free.
“In this planning scenario, the amount of vaccine expected is limited and, therefore, will need to be prioritized,” Oliver wrote in a letter to health care providers Friday. “Over time, the volume of vaccines is expected to increase, thereby allowing the general population to be vaccinated.”
Some health experts have said Trump’s call for a faster pace could pressure manufacturers to cut corners on testing and production. Vaccine development usually takes years of study and experiments. But U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn has insisted that scientists will decide whether a vaccine is safe, not politicians.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prompted the state to prepare for November. In a recent planning document, the agency stated that vaccine doses “may be available by early November 2020” if authorized or licensed by the FDA, “but COVID-19 vaccine supply may increase substantially in 2021.”
In Virginia, at least 144,000 people have contracted the virus, and 3,276 have died.
To prepare for a mass vaccination campaign, the Virginia Department of Health is trying to add pharmacies, long-term care facilities and hospital occupational health divisions to the state’s immunization registry. Called the Virginia Immunization Information System, the database combines electronic records from both the public and private sector.
Its purpose is to provide a reliable resource for all vaccinations statewide.
Dr. Cynthia Romero, director of the Brock Institute for Community and Global Health at Eastern Virginia Medical School, says participation in the system has been optional, meaning some health records aren’t connected. But the registry has been an important tool for early childhood vaccinations, she said, collecting details such as the specific date and time of the shot, the manufacturer’s lot number and what part of the body was injected.
Some of that information can be helpful to confirm that a young patient receives the second part of certain vaccines in the right time frame, said Romero, a former state health commissioner.
It also may prove crucial in the case of COVID-19 vaccines.
State health officials are planning for the possibility of several vaccines from different makers. Though the vaccines might all accomplish the same thing, the
products could have slight differences. Health experts are already anticipating varying storage needs, for example, such as refrigeration, freezing or ultra-cold temperatures.
And they already know that most of the products in clinical trials will require two doses, some separated by either 21 or 28 days. That means patients who receive the first dose will need reminders to come back for the second, and both of their injections will have to match.
So far a little under 3,500 organizations, including hospitals, have enrolled in the statewide registry, though Virginia is urging more. Centers will be asked to include an estimate of the population they serve with higher risk factors, and that information will be used to prioritize shipments.
The CDC has a work group studying who should be inoculated first. Front-line health care workers and nursing home residents are among those that have been mentioned, said Tammie Smith, a spokeswoman for the health commissioner. People with underlying health conditions also may be included.
Distribution to localities will be based on many factors, including the level of spread in the area. The nationwide effort will be managed jointly by the CDC, which usually oversees vaccine allocation, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Not only are public health officials considering who will be first in line, but where those lines will be.
“They could have big flu vaccine-type drive-thrus, literally in a parking lot, and people can drive through and not even get out of their car to get their vaccination,” Romero said. “The other strategy is leveraging where they can already go, like going to a pharmacy or other health care delivery sites.”
Doctors and other health care workers who opt to offer the vaccine will be given some supplies at no cost. In addition to the vaccine, the federal government is expected to pay for needles, syringes, alcohol swabs, face masks and face shields. Gloves, bandages and containers for used needles won’t be covered, the health commissioner said.
The state health department has purchased $50,000 in backup supplies for COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.
Bob Mauskapf, the health department’s director of emergency preparedness, said staff have been preparing for this with virtual mass vaccination exercises for years. And real-world experiences, like the swine flu pandemic in 2009, taught the department how to better communicate with local health officials and private partners who were administering the vaccines, he said.
“One thing we didn’t see with H1N1 is that we are always practicing social distancing, we’re all masked,” Mauskapf said. “The ability to manage a response in a COVID environment is very important. That’s not an H1N1 lesson learned. This is a COVID lesson learned.”