The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Vaccines in high demand locally
Vaccination has begun and is the buzzword for everyone dealing with the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, local leaders said.
The Lorain County Community Protection Team held a weekly online meeting Jan. 19.
Participating health experts, local government officials and school and business representatives discussed the steps needed to get the vaccine from deliveries of vials to syringes to people.
Lorain County had what appeared to be a post-holiday rise in case counts, but now the cases of COVID-19 appear to be declining, said Lorain County Public Health Commissioner Dave Covell.
“Not quite fast enough, as far as I’m concerned, or my very tired staff is concerned” Covell said. “But, again, we’re excited about that.”
Tier 1B
People in Ohio’s Tier 1B category will begin getting vaccinations in three clinics scheduled for this weekend, Covell said.
That group includes Ohioans age 80 or older to start.
Tier 1B sets the schedule for inoculations for people with underlying health issues and teachers.
People may question why Lorain County Public Health doesn’t open those clinics to anyone age 80 or older.
Covell said the agency has about 4,000 people age 80 or older signed up, but only about 2,000 vaccines, so, there won’t be enough for everyone yet.
Demand for vaccines far exceeds supply, he said.
Overall, Lorain County Public Health has about 20,000 people signed up for vaccines in Tier 1B.
Getting 2,000 vaccines a week still is not enough when the department could use 10,000 a week, Covell said.
“As vaccine’s available, we’ll continue to get it out,” he said.
Tier 1A
Starting Jan. 20, Lorain County emergency medical responders will get their second doses of COVID-19 vaccines, Covell said.
Almost all emergency medical workers in the county came out for their first doses in December, he said.
Other people in the Tier 1A category will get their second doses in coming days, Covell said.
On Jan. 16, Lorain County Public Health vaccinated more than 630 people, largely health care workers, during a four-hour clinic.
That exceeded the department’s target of injecting 500 vaccines in four hours, which was good, Covell said.
Double dose
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses for full effectiveness.
Going forward, people seeking the first dose will not have to wait until everyone who has a first dose gets the second one, said Dr. Rebecca Starck, president of Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital.
Distribution of first and second doses will happen in parallel, not in sequence, Starck said.
So far, trial data shows one dose will confer some immunity, but it is not reliable enough that people should ignore the second dose, she said.
People should follow the process to get the second dose and understand that it could be weeks, possibly months, before they develop full immunity, Starck said.
Side effects
Cleveland Clinic and other health systems are hopeful that other companies’ vaccines will work and be approved, and production will increase in coming weeks, Starck said.
So far, healthcare workers getting the vaccine generally have had mild side effects that resolve in two or three days, Starck said. She emphasized the vaccine will not alter recipients’ DNA and will not cause COVID-19.
A few people who received the first dose, also tested positive for COVID-19 before receiving the second dose, Starck said.
“So again, to reiterate, it is important that we’re vaccinating, it’s one area of opportunity to provide protection, but it’s not the only opportunity that we have to provide protection,” she said.
UH Elyria Medical Center generally has had a good experience with vaccines among employees.
A large number accepted it with very minor reactions, said President Kristi Sink.
Vaccinations and COVID-19 patient care has been going well for Mercy Health, said a letter to the team from Char Wray, chief operating officer for Mercy Health Lorain.
Questions
Lorain Public Library System Director Anastasia Diamond-Ortiz asked about how to deal with questions from people reluctant or skeptical about the vaccines.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers resources.
But that may be less personal than Lorain County Public Health and the local hospitals offering reliable information, Covell said.
Lorain County Probate Judge James Walther asked about arguments against getting the vaccine when other people are getting it.
“So, the more people we vaccinate, the quicker we get our entire community out of this mess, and the threshold is about 75 percent of the community,” Starck said. “So, yes, while it’s an individual right or choice to receive the vaccination, they are impacting, not only their own heath, but potentially the health of the entire community.”
Take precautions
As the vaccine rolls out, Covell reminded people to wear masks, wash their hands frequently and stay at least six feet apart from others to slow the spread of the disease.
“Just hang on a little longer, that’s the message, and I hope we can keep that message going,” he said. “And I’m tired of saying it, frankly, but we all need to be paying attention to that.”
Local government
It was disappointing to see the Lorain County Commission gutting federal coronavirus relief grants totaling $4.6 million for nonprofit groups, said Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley.
“It’s all part of getting through this pandemic together, and there are a lot people I know in the city of Lorain that were looking forward to having that type of relief,” Bradley said.
He asked Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy to invite fellow Commissioner Michelle Hung and Commissioner David Moore to participate in next week’s Community Protection Team meeting.
Hung and Moore voted in favor of rescinding the grants.
Lundy, who generally has guided the Community Protection Team meetings since they started last year, voted against cutting the grants.
Avon Mayor Bryan Jensen asked the group to advocate for earlier vaccines for police officers, who frequently are among the first people on scene during medical emergencies.
PPE out there
Since March 24, 2020, the Lorain County Emergency Management Agency has given out 2.6 million individual pieces of personal protective equipment, said agency Director Tom Kelley.
It started with police, firefighters, emergency medics, nursing homes, hospitals, medical offices, courts and schools.
Since then, distribution has been more limited, with masks and gloves going to police, firefighters and emergency medics, Kelley said.
The local Emergency Management Agency had 700,000 masks to distribute, and has given away 452,000 of them, he said.
Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio also has received a number of boxes of masks to give away with food.
The county has a stockpile of about 224,000 masks, gloves, gowns and face shields for law enforcement and workers who need them, in case supply lines shut down, Kelley said.