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CHARLOTTE COUNTY
Many of those over the age of 65 in Southwest Florida have been struggling to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. As appointments at places like Publix fill up in a matter of minutes, many are feeling discouraged.
Others, who have been lucky enough to get their first appointment or are now fully vaccinated, are rejoicing. But even they know, this long road is far from over.
Bob Carpenter lives in Port Charlotte and has been using every piece of technology he has available to get a vaccine appointment for his wife. So far, no luck.
I have been on that computer every time Publix has put something out, Carpenter said.
He has also used his tablet and his phone to aid in getting that coveted vaccine appointment. Finally, it worked.
I was getting a little discouraged and I was like here we go again and then boom a new green light popped up at the top,' he said. It was the first time I got in that fast. Fast like 15 about 20 minutes.
Not everyone has had that same luck. Judy Murdoch of Rotonda West is trying and has been for a while, to get an appointment for her husband. He is an Air Force veteran and a two-time cancer survivor.
Its become an adrenaline game actually trying to get through, Murdoch said.
Publix said its appointments didnt open right at 7 a.m. and many of you called and emailed WINK News wondering what was going on.
The numbers didnt count down like they normally do you normally see each county changing as people sign up, Murdoch said.
Eventually, she got into the site but her issues didnt stop there.
I waited, I picked eight different time frames and every time they told me it was full and then I had to try again, Murdoch said. Two minutes later my screen went gray and it said Publix has an error in their system.
So now, shes back to square one.
Even with an appointment, Bob Carpenter is still holding his breath. Until that shot goes in the arm I just keep on pins and needles, he said.
Publix filled 48,000 slots Friday morning and will open up its website for more appointments next Wednesday at 7 a.m.
Ultimately, queue-jumpers engage in unjust behavior because they have forgotten what they had learned as children: Cutting in line is shameful, said Nancy Berlinger, research scholar at the Hastings Center, an independent research institute on bioethics in Garrison, N.Y., north of New York City. Its also unethical because its a deception.
What should you do with your COVID-19 vaccine card? Heres what experts say WFTV Orlando
The COVID-19 vaccine is perhaps the most important cargo thats ever been shipped across the country and around the world. While getting the vaccine into the arms of individuals is the ultimate goal, getting the doses to their destinations safely and efficiently is equally importantand its no easy task.
A panel of experts, including alumni from Elmhurst Universitys masters program in supply chain management (MSCM), recently discussed the challenge of delivering the vaccines during the webinar, A Look Inside Operation Warp Speed and the Coronavirus Vaccine Supply Chain.
Tim Engstrom, MSCM 03, Elmhurst Universitys executive in residence and a faculty member in the Department of Business and Economics, moderated a discussion that examined a number of points in the complex process.
As a supply chain consultant, Michael Wohlwend of Alpine Supply Chain Solutions, understands how one disruption in the chain of delivery can upend the entire process. He described the complexity and sheer number of organizations and entities involved in the supply chain, starting with suppliers and ending with consumers. In the early to mid-2000s, technological advances in pharmaceutical tracking and distribution helped to lay the groundwork for the historic COVID-19 vaccine rollout, he said.
Before any vaccines are loaded onto a truck or plane, delivery methods have to be thoroughly tested. Thats the responsibility of people like Gary Hutchinson, president of biopharmaceutical cold chain engineering firm Modality Solutions. His company worked with manufacturers and members of Operation Warp Speed to map out an expected vaccine delivery network. The network then was tested in a simulation chamber for hazards like temperature, pressure, vibration, shock and relative humidity. The combination of these hazards is what can cause harm to the vaccine, he said.
The ultra-cold storage requirements of the Pfizer vaccine have been grabbing the headlinesand for good reason, said Ian OMalley, MSCM 12, director of strategic sourcing at University of Chicago Medicine. So the first thing his hospital system did was to secure ultra-cold freezers. Every hospital in country started buying them around July-August, OMalley said. That was going to be the bottleneck to distributing this vaccine.
In her webinar introduction, Molly Tran, director of the Master of Public Health program, explained how the vaccines were developed and why the cold storage is important. Some of the material used to make the vaccine is very unstable, she said, so when youre working with it in a lab setting, keeping it at these really, really cold temperatures helps prolong its life.
Besides the vaccines themselves, OMalley also described shortages of syringes and personal protective equipment, which is an ongoing issue. The supply chain has not recovered, he said. We are still ordering direct from China.
The webinar was presented by Elmhurst Universitys M.S. in Supply Chain Management program.
PENDLETON Umatilla County is scheduled to receive 400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to begin vaccinating elderly residents next week as Oregonians over the age of 80 become eligible starting Sunday, Feb. 7, according to the county health department.
The new vaccine supply will be distributed across the county, with 100 doses going to Mirasol Family Health Center in Hermiston and 100 more to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston. In addition, 100 doses will be available at both the Umatilla County Health Department in Pendleton on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and the Milton-Freewater Community Building on Thursday, Feb. 11, according to Joe Fiumara, the countys public health director.
Those who wish to be vaccinated in Pendleton or Milton-Freewater must make an appointment before arriving by calling 541-278-6311. The phone line will close when available appointments have been filled, according to health officials.
Vaccination appointments at Mirasol in Hermiston can be scheduled over the phone at 541-567-1717 starting at 8 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8. Good Shepherd will be holding walk-in appointments starting at 7 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 12, according to a press release from the health department.
Fiumara said that the supply is better than he feared the county would receive, but added that its not nearly enough to satisfy the roughly 2,500 residents who will become eligible next week.
A lot of people are unhappy and frustrated, I know, because theres only going to be about 400 of those folks who are going to be able to get a shot next week, he said.
The new doses come as Gov. Kate Brown announced in a press conference on Friday, Feb. 5, that the White House is planning to increase Oregons allotments of COVID-19 vaccine by 20% in the coming weeks.
The increase will ramp up vaccination efforts so that most of the states seniors, educators and health care workers will be fully vaccinated by May, a month earlier than previously anticipated, according to Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen.
Allen said the increase should allow the state to offer first doses to approximately 75% of all eligible seniors over the age of 65, educators, inmates, and Phase 1a members by April, when the state plans to open up eligibility to new groups, like essential workers and people with underlying health conditions.
Each week through February, a new group of elderly residents will become eligible to receive the vaccine, per state guidelines. People ages 75-79 will be eligible starting Sunday, Feb. 14, 70-74 starting Feb. 21, and 65-69 starting Feb. 28.
Fiumara estimates that between 3,000 to 4,000 additional county residents will become eligible each week. However, the county health department is expecting just 300 to 400 additional doses from the state each week through February.
For the next three weeks, Fiumara said he is expecting a lot of calls, a lot of upset folks, a lot of frustration, and we wont have an answer that will satisfy.
Fiumara said the slow rollout is partly due to vaccines now being fast-tracked to the roughly 11,000 adults in custody at Oregon prisons after a federal judge on Tuesday, Feb. 2, ordered the state to immediately begin offering them the vaccine. The order came during a larger case from a group of inmates who criticized state officials and Brown for their response COVID-19 outbreaks in Oregon prisons, saying that the state has violated the U.S. Constitution.
Brown announced in the Feb. 5 press conference that vaccine eligibility will also immediately expand to the thousands of Oregonians in jails and youth correctional facilities.
Case counts in Oregon prisons increased dramatically in the past two months, with more than 1,900 new cases reported among adults in custody through December 2020 and January. In the first eight months of the pandemic, 1,400 cases were reported in Oregon prisons.
Twenty inmates with COVID-19 died in January alone, with 15 of those reported at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla.
Since the pandemic began, 3,413 adults in custody in Oregon have tested positive for COVID-19 and 42 have died.
The health department administered about 540 doses on Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Pendleton Convention Center through its drive-thru clinic. The department planned to administer 340 more on Feb. 5, which would most likely exhaust the countys current supply, Fiumara said.
About 600 doses administered this week were second doses, Fiumara said, adding the department is slated to receive about 1,000 doses each week to vaccinate people a second time, making them fully immunized against the virus.
Since county vaccination efforts began in late December 2020, 5,092 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19, with 1,270 of those having received a second dose, according to data from the Oregon Health Authority.
In all, Umatilla County has reported 7,307 presumed and confirmed coronavirus cases and 76 deaths. The countys testing positivity rate is the third highest in the state at 13.5%, according to an Oregonian/OregonLive database.
Stephanie Hill-Frazier, known to viewers as Mama Steph, joined the KLTV team in 2011. She shares recipes she develops especially for viewers during Tuesday mornings on East Texas News Midday in her segment, 'Mama Steph on East Texas Kitchen.' She also writes feature stories, as well as news, as part of the KLTV digital team.
Several governors are making teachers a priority.
In West Virginia, all teachers over the age of 50 who said they wanted the vaccine have already received it, according to Governor Jim Justice. In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine has set a plan to have all teachers vaccinated by the end of February, with the goal of all students returning to classrooms by March 1.
Other states, like Rhode Island and Vermont, are not prioritizing any specialized groups other than healthcare workers, and are distributing vaccines strictly by age.
Of the 24 states that have now made teachers eligible, there is still the matter of availability. In several of those states, some counties are moving more quickly than others to reach the Phase or Group numbers that include educators.
There are 26 states where teachers are still not eligible to receive the vaccine as a specific group -- although some educators might fall into the age group that state is vaccinating.
Two of those states, Alabama and Colorado, will include teachers among those who can be vaccinated starting on Monday.
Education and child care workers are placed in the group Priority Phase 1B, which has been reached statewide. Counties largely determine at what level to distribute vaccines. Some counties have advanced to Phase 1B, which includes essential workers and adults with high-risk conditions.
The state is in Phase 1-B, which includes teachers and school staff as well as other essential workers. The phase began January 18 and is expected to last through April before opening up to individuals 65 and older, as well as those with high-risk conditions.
Educators in select counties are eligible to receive the vaccine, as categorized in 1B Tier One. The state is anticipating a more widespread distribution network for teachers and staff in mid-February.
The state has reached Phase 1b. Teachers and education staff are eligible to receive the vaccine, as are child care providers.
Teachers are included as part of the "frontline essential workers" category able to receive the vaccine.
As part of the state's Group 2, Pre-K through 12th grade teachers, school staff and daycare/child care staff are eligible for vaccination.
Currently at Phase 1b, teachers, education staff, student aides and day care workers are eligible for vaccination, along with other frontline essential workers.
Teachers, staff, and child care workers are in Phase 1B, Tier 1, and are eligible along with first responders and those aged 65 and older.
The state is currently in Phase 2, which includes teachers and staff at K-12 schools, including drivers and custodians. Those working in child care are also eligible.
Educators and school personnel initially became eligible at different times throughout the state depending on their location, yet this has now ramped up statewide. Governor Andy Beshear has aimed to complete initial vaccinations for those eligible by early February.
Teachers and staff at K-12 schools along with day care providers were part of Phase 1B. The state has since entered 1C.
PreK-12 teachers and childcare providers have been eligible since January 11, along with other frontline essential workers and first responders.
Teachers, K-12 staff and child care staff were included in an expansion of access called the community vaccine program.
Educators, staff and daycare providers are eligible under Tier I. However, residents age 65 and older are given priority.
Each county in Nevada is responsible for determining eligibility. Some counties are now including educators and staff.
Educators, staff and licensed child care providers have been included in eligibility for vaccination as part of Phase 1b.
The state is aiming to vaccinate all employees of K-12 schools before March 1, the target date for in-person school reopening.
Teachers, staff and child care providers are part of Phase 1B, group 1, and gained eligibility to receive the vaccine in the last week of January.
Teachers and staff in K-12 and child care are eligible under Phase 1b, which some counties have reached and commenced with distribution.
K-12 teachers and staff are eligible for vaccination statewide. Governor Spencer Cox said last month the state aims to get all education workers vaccinated by the end of February.
Teachers and staff at schools and child care centers are eligible in certain counties that have hit Phase 1B, Group 2.
Teachers over the age of 50 are eligible to receive inoculations. Those under the age of 50 will be offered vaccination at a later date.
K-12 educators and child care providers are listed as eligible in Phase 1B, Groups 5 and 6. Some counties have started vaccinations for those in that tier.
CNN's Travis Caldwell contributed to this report.
With COVID-19 vaccine doses still in short supply, the decision of how to prioritize immunizations is becoming an increasingly fraught matter as officials must choose among many groups, each with its own desperate need to get to the front of the line.
Focusing on older people, the disabled and others at higher risk of becoming critically ill from the coronavirus has the potential to save many lives. Reserving doses for essential workers would also help slow the spread of COVID-19. And moving educators to a higher position could make teachers willing to return to campus for in-person instruction.
Whats so difficult right now is that we even have to view this as competing priorities. Theres all this tension on shifting priorities in groups, and all of this is based on a limited supply, said Dr. Eve Glazier, president of the Faculty Practice Group at UCLA Health. Theres a lot of different lenses to look at it.
So far, a number of Californias most populous counties have generally prioritized healthcare workers, those living in long-term care settings and people 65 and older for vaccinations. The state is getting only a fraction of the vaccine it needs, so it will probably take weeks or months to get through those groups.
Read he full story on LATimes.com.
At a COVID-19 vaccination registration site Friday, there was a steady stream of people needing to register.
Its near my house, so I said since this is near my house let me go, said Lenora Harris.
The in-person registration event was held at the Highland Hills Library Branch in the southern part of the city of Dallas, an area where many people face challenges getting registered online or by phone.
Im not familiar with all the computer gadgets and I barely do work my phone, registrant Andrew Perry said.
Every time we get a number its not working or something like that, registrant Saundra Halton said.
I dont have a computer either, Harris said.
Thats why the in-person registration sites are important.
The Dallas County Democratic Party is taking it a step further. The 'Max the Vax' campaign will target a neighborhood in the southern area of Dallas going door to door registering people.
Because they dont have healthcare access in their communities. Because they dont have reliable internet in their communities. And if we really want this rollout to be successful, were going to have to take this to the community, Dallas County Democratic Party Development Director Joanna Cattanach said.
People living in these areas are glad theyre getting help to make sure theyre on the list and not forgotten.
I feel thats what a lot of people need, Perry said. Its a lot of people my age and older that just need this.
The in-person registration site at the Highland Hills Library will continue Saturday, Feb. 5 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Beginning Monday, Feb. 8, Dallas College, in conjunction with Dallas County Health and Human Services, is helping individuals who need assistance registering for COVID-19 vaccines. Registration assistance will be offered at Cedar Valley and Mountain View campuses for members of the community who may be having difficulty signing up for vaccine appointments.
For more information on the Dallas College Vaccine Registration Assistance, you can call 214-378-1580.
Through Feb. 18, several vaccine registration events will also be held at a number of schools in the Dallas ISD. See a list here.
The vaccine is currently only being administered to those who are part of Phase 1A and 1B, as outlined by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those in Phase 1A are front-line healthcare workers or residents of long-term care facilities. Phase 1B includes those who are over the age of 65, or those over the age of 16 with a chronic medical condition that puts them at risk for severe illness.
The DSHS said Feb. 4 they are continuing to discuss when to expand vaccine availability to group 1C and whether or not that group will include teachers.
Once vaccinated, people are expected to get some level of protection within a couple of weeks after the first shot, but full protection may not happen until a couple of weeks after the second shot. Even when fully vaccinated, it's still possible to become infected by the virus since the vaccine does not offer 100% protection.
The Texas DSHS advises that the vaccine will not be readily available for the general public until late spring or early summer 2021.
Want to Get on a Vaccine Waitlist?
As the state begins to distribute the COVID-19 vaccines for those in Phase 1A and 1B, county health departments have begun waitlists for those wish to be inoculated.
You can now register to recieve the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:
Waitlist Links: Collin - Search Waitlist | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You do not need to be a resident of the county to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county -- registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County is also taking registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS vaccine hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.
