County receives 1,170 doses of vaccine

By KENT THOMPSON
The wait may not be over but Humboldt County Memorial Hospital (HCMH) CEO Michelle Sleiter was excited to share some good news Tuesday morning.
At the HCMH monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees, Sleiter revealed that Humboldt County Public Health will be receiving an additional 1,170 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine next week.
“This is the first of two large shipments we will be receiving with another 1,170 doses coming in 21 days for the second vaccination schedule,” Sleiter said.
A mass clinic is planned for Wednesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 1 for citizens who are eligible (see requirements below.)
“We have had a number of eligible citizens who have been waiting patiently to be vaccinated. This will start to get more of those people who are eligible into the vaccination stream,” Sleiter said.
Since the vaccine became available in December, the frail elderly, persons over the age of 65 and other essential workers and first responders have been the first in line to receive vaccines. Humboldt County K-12 teachers and staff have also had the opportunity to be vaccinated.
The county has had limited numbers of the Moderna vaccine available (usually only 200 or 100 doses) to distribute at any given time. Even with that, it was reported at Tuesday’s meeting that 885 county residents have received one dose of the vaccine and 1,300 residents have received both doses.
“It will take an army but we are prepared for it,” Sleiter said of the clinics.
“Victor Bycroft has been handling the scheduling and has the hospital staff lined up to administer the vaccine,” Sleiter said. She said it is not believed that Public Health will need additional help.
“We will be pushing through 50 people every half hour for two straight days,” Sleiter said.
Between the 1,100 Pfizer vaccine doses and about 500 Moderna second round doses for citizens, HCMH Public Health will be giving out 1,600 shots over the course of two days next week.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our community as we continue to fight COVID-19,” Sleiter said.
Visit www.humboldthospital.org/news-events/humboldt-county-covid-19-vaccine to schedule your appointment. Appointments are required. Prior to your appointment, please take time to read the Pfizer fact sheet and complete the 1st dose vaccine form.
These doses will be available to all persons meeting the following criteria:
A person must:
• Be 65 years old or older
• Be a First Responder
• Be a PK-12 school staff member, early childhood education or childcare worker
• Be 18-64 years old that are or might be at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to medical conditions
Adults of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19:
• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Down Syndrome
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
• Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but • Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Smoking
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

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