Updated at 5pm
Martha’s Vineyard Hospital estimates that there are 5,000 residents of Martha’s Vineyard qualified to receive a vaccine in phase two of the state’s vaccine implantation plan, but as of this week the hospital is receiving only 370 doses – enough for less than 8 percent of the total eligible individuals.
“Needless to say, we have more demand than supply,” said chief nurse and chief operating officer Claire Seguin in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday morning. “It is practically everything determined by the state.”
The priority is based on the medical condition and the risk of falling ill due to COVID-19. Both hospital and non-hospital patients eligible for phase two are grouped, reviewed and will receive a vaccine based on their medical risk. It is unclear when or how many vaccines will reach the eligible islanders in phase two.
“We would like to be able to make all 5,000 as quickly as possible, but as [Seguin] said, we are limited by the amount of vaccines we are receiving, ”said hospital president and CEO Denise Schepici.
The vaccine provides all dependencies of the state, which distributes the doses. The hospital tells the state how many vaccines they hope to need, and then the state gives them a quota based on a percentage of the total – which is the case across the state, according to Seguin.
The question of vaccine availability goes up the ladder. On Monday, Governor Charlie Baker said the success of the vaccine’s launch in the state depends on the doses provided by the federal government.
With only 370 vaccines to start phase two, Schepici said, individuals aged 75 and over are unlikely to receive the vaccine in the next week. While waiting for more vaccine supplies, the hospital is prepared to administer 500 vaccines a day at its clinic, as it receives enough vaccines.
Despite the low number of vaccines available, the hospital is encouraging everyone who is entitled to a vaccine to sign up for it.
“I would like to have a schedule, but I just don’t,” said Schepici. “I know that everyone wants this as soon as possible, but that’s why we encourage people to check out the site. We are trying to make the instructions as simple as possible. “
Eligible individuals on the island can apply for a vaccine in two ways. Hospital patients will be contacted via Patient Portal when they become eligible for a vaccine. Patients will be able to schedule an appointment. If patients do not use Patient Gateway, they will receive a call from the hospital’s parent company, Mass General Brigham, confirming eligibility and scheduling an appointment for vaccination.
Out-of-hospital patients should monitor their condition COVID-19 vaccine website to find out when they are eligible. Once qualified, individuals can complete and submit an application COVID-19 vaccine attestation form. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will then send an email to eligible individuals, who must forward this confirmation via email to [email protected].
The hospital has already vaccinated 20 patients in its outpatient clinic, using information from the Patient Portal. These patients have had recent organ transplants or are on dialysis. Seguin said he will send information and guidance, if patients are eligible, on how to apply for a vaccine.
The hospital is encouraging people to follow these steps and is not currently providing a phone number. Seguin also asked the community to help family members or neighbors who did not understand computers. The hospital is working on creating guidelines for vaccine registration in Portuguese.
Non-hospital patients and patients who meet the eligibility requirements will be notified by telephone, through the Patient Portal or through contact on the certificate form. A vaccine clinic for eligible individuals who make an appointment will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week.
Patients will be automatically scheduled for the second dose on the day they receive the first vaccine. Pfizer vaccines require a 21-day period between doses and Moderna requires 28 days.
“I ask everyone to remain vigilant, wear masks, until a good percentage of the community is inoculated,” said Schepici. “I continue to urge everyone to act on the side of caution to keep everyone safe.”
As of Wednesday, the hospital had vaccinated 432 employees. Of these, 207 received the second dose. The hospital vaccinated 298 rescuers and plans to vaccinate 100 additional community service providers, such as doctors, nurses and dentists, on Wednesday. Seguin said that almost all eligible hospital staff and first responders received a vaccine, and that the hospital has gone through phase one of the vaccine launch.
“The only overlap we will have is the second doses with the patients. I think we are well positioned to have phase one, the first, completed by the end of this week, ”said Seguin.
Following persons aged 75 or over, in order of eligibility, phase two will include persons aged 65 or over, persons with two or more comorbidities, listed as increased risk of serious illness, other workers in early childhood education, K-12, traffic , grocery, public services, food and agriculture, restaurant and cafe, funeral and port services and terminal workers. Individuals with a comorbid condition will end phase two. Phase three is scheduled to begin in April and will include the general public.
The island’s health councils reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday – seven from Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and five from TestMV.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the hospital has performed 12,102 tests for COVID-19 since March. Of these, 562 had positive results, 11,539 negative and one is pending.
There are currently two patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Both are in good condition.
On January 12, the hospital sent a “seriously ill” patient off the Island via MedFlight. There have been four total transfers related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, TestMV has performed 31,299 tests since June. Of these, 239 had positive results, 30,072 negative and 988 have pending results.
A positive probable case has been reclassified as a confirmed positive, to a total of 49 since March.
The city of Aquinnah performed 405 tests, of which one was positive, 380 negative and 24 pending.
Martha’s Vineyard public schools tested 2,000 individuals. Since January 25, there have been three positive cases. Public school data is updated once a week
The Gay Head Wampanoag Tribe (Aquinnah) reported a new case on Tuesday, for a total of five positive cases of COVID-19.
Due to the way the tests are performed, there may be a discrepancy between the number of positive individuals and the number of positive tests reported.
In an expanded report on Friday, Martha’s Vineyard health councils reported that there were 62 active cases of COVID-19 on the Island. Two active cases tested positive between January 3 and 9; the rest tested positive between 17 and 22 January.
Of the positive cases, 310, or 40 percent, are linked to at least one other case. Most connections are within family / home groups, according to health councils. There were 47 cases of groups of two people who tested positive for COVID-19.
Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury are all in the “red” or high-risk category, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
According to state data, there have been 59 positive cases of COVID-19 in Edgartown in the past two weeks, and the city’s positivity rate is 8.28%. Oak Bluffs has reported 34 cases in the past two weeks and has a positivity rate of 6.69%. Tisbury has reported 49 cases in the past two weeks, with a positivity rate of 5.66 percent.
According to Tisbury health worker and health council spokesman Maura Valley, it is not recommended to repeat the test immediately, but she said it can be done at the discretion of a health professional. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidelines, if an individual test is positive for COVID-19, it should be quarantined and taken precautions.
Since March, there have been 810 cases of COVID-19 reported on Martha’s Vineyard. Of these, 410 are women and 400 are men, with the majority of cases in individuals under 40 years of age. Only 33 cases were reported in individuals older than 70 years.
The vast majority of these cases were reported in the last two months, when the first group of cases on the Island was linked to a wedding in october. Since then, the Island has seen 714 cases of COVID-19 – several times the 89 cases reported on the Island between the start of testing in March and October 25.
In addition to the marriage cluster, which reported eight cases, groupings at the Cronig Market, with 19 cases, and a Bible study group, with 11 cases, were also reported.
At the state level, on Tuesday, there were 2,215 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state’s seven-day average percentage positivity dropped to 4.77% – a sharp drop from the 8% rise in early January. There are about 85,395 active cases across the state. There have been 41 new deaths, for a total of 13,930 COVID-19 deaths since March.
Updated with Wednesday’s COVID-19 numbers.