LINCOLN, Nebraska (WOWT) – Pharmacies and health districts that administer the COVID-19 vaccine to people who are not currently eligible are committing a misdemeanor and could have legal repercussions, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said during his news conference at Monday.
However, the governor said, there are no repercussions from the state for individuals receiving these vaccines – and he has no plans to take action against Douglas County by prioritizing telecommunications workers over other priority groups.
The governor said he spoke to Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour after the news conference, saying there was “a little bit of a lack of communication” and that Douglas County has agreed to take corrective action. The governor made a point of criticizing the decision, calling it “a big mistake”, at his press conference on Friday.
“We are trying to make this a collaborative agreement with our local health departments. We believe that we will do this for a long time. Dr. Pour told me that she would work to improve communication with us regarding the plans she will follow, ”he said.
Ricketts was asked about those who do not qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine under the state’s current stipulations, currently 50 years or older. He said there could be some explanations for how some Nebraskans manage to get vaccinated “out of order”.
“Two Rivers is going through the stages very quickly and, of course, we want to make sure that we are not wasting vaccine anywhere, so obviously we allow clinics – when they have open positions – to be able to offer this to people who would be out, ”said the governor.
“We want to make sure that we are putting these vaccines in someone’s arm as soon as possible,” he said.
Governor’s vaccination
Ricketts, 56, said he signed up for his vaccination through Nebraska’s COVID-19 vaccine registration portal, but has not yet received his notification that he was eligible for a vaccine, noting that he does not yet qualify in the county. Douglas, where he resides. Douglas County opened vaccinations for residents aged 60 and over on Monday. The governor said he would allow the media to cover his live vaccination as soon as he could.
Nebraska’s health directors have flexibility in the way they distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines to the required age groups, according to the state’s vaccine distribution schedule.
Where Nebraska is
The governor also said that he requested data on the federal vaccination allocations COVID-19 from the Trump and Biden government, especially since the Nebraska population is younger than many states, but was unable to “show us the math. “
Ricketts said he was able to obtain anecdotal comparisons through discussions with other states and was able to see if Nebraska is getting its fair share.
“I believe Nebraska is close to getting the right ratio, but as I said, I have no way to verify this because the federal government has not released these figures on … what the formula is and how they are doing it,” he said.
Dr. Anthone’s replies
Dr. Gary Anthone, the state’s chief medical officer, answered questions on Monday about the effectiveness and safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.
He was also asked about reports of people receiving COVID-19 after vaccination. Dr. Anthone said there were no confirmed “vaccine discovery” reports in Nebraska, although Dr. Mark Rupp, an infectious disease specialist at UNMC, told 6 News on Monday that this is happening.
Other topics
Before starting the Ag Week program, which made up most of Monday’s press conference, the governor reported that the state has 113 hospitalizations for COVID-19 – almost the same level as we were in July 2021. He said that the state has 38% of available hospital beds and 42% of available ICU beds.
The governor will make several appearances this week related to Agriculture Week and shared his calendar at the conclusion of that presentation on Monday.
Watch Monday’s press conference
Copyright 2021 WOWT. All rights reserved.