When a group of health professionals in Oregon got stuck on a highway during a snowstorm, they had to think fast to make sure that the remaining doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in hand were administered before it expired – causing them to vaccinate the other drivers stuck around them.
On Wednesday, health workers from the Josephine County Department of Public Health in Grants Pass, Oregon, were trying to return from a mass vaccination clinic they held at Illinois Valley High School, about 45 minutes away. away when a heavy snowstorm left them stranded on Highway 199 near Hayes Hill.
Without knowing how long they would stay in prison, the team thought better than missing the shots. Team members walked from car to car, offering the jab to other drivers trapped around them.
(iStock)
The team had six doses of the Modern vaccine remaining, with patients on Grants Pass eagerly awaiting the return of healthcare professionals so they could receive the vaccine. But with the snowstorm stranding them, the team had to think fast, as the doses only had a few hours to expire, according to a social media post from the public health department.
Without knowing how long they would stay in prison, the team thought better than missing the shots. Team members walked from car to car, offering the jab to other drivers trapped around them.
THE PFIZER VACCINE BELIEVES TO BE EFFECTIVE IN CORONAVIRUS VARIANTS: WHAT TO KNOW
Workers were able to administer all of the remaining doses, including one that went to a Josephine County Sheriff’s Office employee who had missed the chance to receive the vaccine at the Illinois Valley High School vaccination clinic, which the team was trying to turn back.
“We had an individual who was so happy that he took his shirt off and got out of the car,” Michael Weber, director of public health for Josephine County, told the New York Times.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
“Honestly, once we knew we wouldn’t be back in town in time to use the vaccine, it was just the obvious choice,” added Weber. “Our # 1 rule now is that nothing is wasted.”
In the health department’s post, Weber added that the operation was one of the “coolest” he has ever been a part of.