CENTRAL POINT, Ore. – Local authorities are hammering out the final details for a planned drive-in coronavirus vaccination event at the Jackson County Expo later this month. But with an increase in vaccine doses no longer expected from the federal government, the next event will be for groups only in Phase 1a.
The drive-in event is still planned for the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of January at the Expo, and several dozen members of the National Guard must be present to help with all aspects of the initiative – from logistics to vaccine administration.
Officials in Jackson County, Josephine County and Asante held a news conference on Friday to review the still-evolving details of the event, with more anticipation in the near future.
According to Holly Nickerson, Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety at Asante, a registration portal and the necessary documentation specific to this event will be available on its website starting on Monday, January 18th.
Qualified Phase 1a members – including health professionals, first responders and residents and staff from long-term care facilities – are strongly encouraged to visit the site and have the paperwork prepared in advance.
Earlier this week, there was some indication that eligibility could expand to include seniors aged 65 and over, educators and childcare workers. However, there has been no corresponding increase in doses to help local authorities make this a reality, and Jackson County confirmed on Friday that this first event will be for Phase 1a only.
When the event starts, people will go to a checkpoint to have their paperwork examined. They will be vaccinated while they are still in their vehicles and then they will be driven to a waiting area for observation for a period of 15 minutes or more to ensure that there are no serious allergic reactions.
Participants will receive a form stating that they have received their first dose, along with details on how to receive a second dose in the following weeks.
The exact time of the event is still under discussion, but Asante said the forecast is that it will be open for about 8 hours a day.
Nickerson said Asante has performed about 500 vaccinations a day in southern Oregon, every day of the week. The goal of the Expo event is to vaccinate 5,000 people in three days.
A second similar event is being planned for Josephine County on January 24th and 25th, although the location and precise details are still being developed. The authorities hope to carry out 3,000 vaccinations at this event, which may be open to educators.
The drive-in events in Jackson and Josephine County will be provided with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which requires deep-frozen storage. Nickerson said the Asante team is now well accustomed to the process of storing and defrosting the vaccine and will have sufficient doses prepared for use as needed.
As of Friday, it was still unclear whether residents of both counties would be able to receive a vaccine at any event, or whether they would be required to attend one in their own county.
There are about 20,000 people in Phase 1a in Jackson County, public health officials said, and more than 7,000 in Josephine County. Josephine County Public Health Director Mike Weber described widespread hesitation about the vaccine in areas of the county, even among the Phase 1a group – indicating that vaccinating 60 percent of that group may be overkill.
Dr. Jim Shames, Jackson County health officer, said he is hopeful that they will soon be able to expand vaccinations to include senior citizens and educators, as previously promised by state and federal officials – but with the latest revelation that shipment numbers remained largely stagnant, he did not feel comfortable making promises.
Asante said they currently have 7,000 doses of the vaccine on hand – just enough to fuel the Jackson County event while still carrying out daily vaccinations at their own facilities. Shames said he anticipated continuing to receive new shipments as they have for weeks, but the number does not reflect a local stockpile that could readily supply expanded categories of people – particularly as an increasing number of people are waiting for their second doses.
On Thursday, the Oregon Health Authority reported that 3,888 people were vaccinated in Jackson County, with 991 receiving the second dose. 1,132 people were vaccinated in Josephine County, with only 136 receiving second doses.
Shames acknowledged on Friday that documentation of the number of vaccines administered at the local level is delayed in Oregon – so while some data at the state level suggests that there are a large number of vaccine doses reserved, local partners are, in fact, dealing with a relatively small margin of vaccines that have not yet been administered.