Healthcare officials strive to open more COVID-19 vaccination clinics as deliveries arrive.
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) has created a COVID-19 Variant Sequencing Dashboard to make it easier for anyone to keep track of the variants found in Arizona at pathogen.tgen.org/covidseq-tracker/footer.
At the same time, the Department of Health and Human Services reports that both Moderna and Pfizer have been experiencing a backlog of orders for the COVID-19 vaccine because of severe weather in the eastern part of the country. So far, more than 1.3 million doses have been administered across Arizona. Yavapai County has administered nearly 50,000 vaccines; more than 5,000 are second doses.
In mid-February, Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH), which operates Verde Valley Medical Center and Flagstaff Medical Center, reported administering 10,000 doses, with more than 2,500 going to community residents. “Right now our goal is to give at least 500 doses a day,” said NAH Chief Quality Officer Dr. John Mougin.
“The most common side effect is soreness in the arm and, really, that’s no different than any other vaccine you may have received. It’s from the injection itself and the needle,” he said. “You can get low-grade fevers, body aches or joint aches. Those things we’re seeing a little bit more frequently with the second shot than the first shot.”
NAH officials are working with Yavapai County to open vaccine clinics in Camp Verde and Sedona, which they expect to occur in the next couple of weeks, depending on vaccine availability. “We are distributing the vaccine in Prescott as well as the rest of Yavapai County at a fairly decent rate,” said Mougin. “One of the NAH goals is to partner with the counties to really make Coconino County and Yavapai County the leaders of the state as far as the rate of vaccinations.”
Currently, NAH is vaccinating those in the 1a and 1b categories. “I have confidence that by late spring we should be doing 1c,” he said.
Phase 1a includes healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents and staff members.
Phase 1b includes priority populations such as education and childcare workers, teachers and staff. This includes all school and higher education staff members who normally interact with other staff and students, and bus drivers, cafeteria workers, facilities staff, etc.; law enforcement and protective services (corrections, other emergency response staff); individuals aged 65 and older.
Phase 1b additional populations include:
Power and utility workers
Food and agriculture related occupations (packaging and distribution workers, grocery and restaurant workers)
Transportation and material moving occupations (public transportation providers, airlines, gas stations, auto shop workers, and other transportation network providers)
State and local government workers that provide critical services for continuity of government
Other essential workers (e.g., business and financial services, supply chain for critical goods, funeral services
Meanwhile, as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to decline in Northern Arizona, NAH Chief Nursing Officer Tyffany Laurano says creative strategies have helped to ensure that enough healthcare workers have been available to treat patients. “One thing that we’re most proud of as an organization is we maintained our nursing ratios throughout the duration of the pandemic, and that has not changed. We have travelers [traveling healthcare workers] with us, as well as some temporary staff.”
Healthcare officials continue to stress masking and distancing. “Even after you get vaccinated, it’s important to continue using all the tools available to help stop this pandemic as we learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work in real-world conditions,” said Yavapai County Community Health Services Public Health Coordinator Terri Farneti.
For COVID-19 vaccine information and appointment availability, visit yavapai.us/chs/Home/COVID-19/Vaccine. QCBN
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN