As Denton County Public Health prepares to begin offering second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to residents who have already received the first, Director Matt Richardson said logistical concerns may be on the horizon between provider-recipient confusion and residents who just don’t go back for the second shot.
Richardson addressed the county’s vaccination effort and other developments across the county at the Denton County Commissioners’ Court Meeting on Tuesday. He said that next week will be the first week that DCPH will be able to offer the second dose of Moderna vaccine, administered about 28 days apart, since it has been almost a month since his first clinic for medical service providers was held. emergency services and home health professionals.
The department expects its second dose shipment to arrive this week, which Richardson specified was identical to the first doses.
“The booster vaccine is no different than the first dose – it is exactly the same vaccine, in the same formulation and in the same volume,” said Richardson. “You cannot mix and match. If you have Moderna or Pfizer, you should get this [same producer] as a backup. “
Matt Richardson
But with the arrival of these second doses, Richardson said, some logistical hurdles may arise. First, he acknowledged that not everyone who received the first injection will return to the second – a problem he said providers across the county will have to resolve.
“I’m sure it won’t be a 100% return, so let’s solve this problem,” said Richardson. “This will undoubtedly be a national and state concern.”
For now, DCPH’s plan is to give only second doses to residents who also administered the first, with Richardson adding that the department does not recommend switching providers for that second dose. This recommendation is due to the state’s allocation system, which he explained will send vaccines specifically for use as a second dose to providers based on their initial allocations, so that each has enough.
State officials, including Governor Greg Abbott himself, have already addressed this concern after some providers have set aside part of their initial allocations to have enough to vaccinate recipients twice.
However, some of this confusion seems to remain between recipients and providers, as District 4 commissioner Dianne Edmondson said at the meeting that she received calls from residents whose initial providers said they were “on their own” when it comes to the second dose. . In response, Richardson reiterated the state’s guidance to providers, adding that it would be difficult for DCPH to compensate.
“Even if a pharmacy or doctor’s office says otherwise … allocations will follow – if they give 100 first doses, they will receive a reinforcement allocation from another 100, and the expectation is that they will vaccinate the second dose for these same patients,” said Richardson. “If we have additional doses, we can open this up to the public. I’m not sure how we would coordinate this. “
DCPH spokeswoman Jennifer Rainey said via email that the department received the 6,000 doses that were allocated for the week and will hold two drive-through clinics at First Baptist Church in Lewisville on Wednesday and Friday. Each will have 3,000 vaccines, the same size as the clinic last Thursday at the CH Collins Athletic Complex in Denton, and will still be available only by appointment on the DCPH online waiting list.
Future clinical plans, Rainey said, are still in the air as DCPH examines the details of offering the first and second doses of the vaccine.