CENTRAL POINT, Ore. – A Phase 1A vaccination clinic and educators closed the record after exceeding the number of available doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, say Jackson County officials.
The three-day event started on Thursday, and officials say it was a huge success. At the beginning of the clinic, Asante had allocated a total of 6,000 doses of vaccine to eligible participants, and more than 2,500 were administered on Thursday alone.
Jackson County issued an urgent statement on Thursday afternoon, warning that the team was seeing several people arriving at the event who were not eligible under the guidelines. Spokesperson Tanya Phillips indicated that many were elderly people who mistakenly heard that they could be vaccinated, although the state postponed vaccination of the elderly until February.
Nevertheless, the number of eligible people who arrive after applying online – and who come prepared with the necessary paperwork – impressed the authorities.
On Friday morning, Asante updated its website to reflect that the event is closed for new registrations. A similar clinic in Josephine County is scheduled to start on Sunday, and registration is still open.
Chris Pizzi, chief executive of Providence, told NewsWatch 12 that the medical provider made another 3,500 doses available to ensure that all eligible and enrolled people could be vaccinated by the end of the clinic on Saturday.
Who is eligible for the Jackson County Clinic
Phase 1a
- Group 1: Hospitals, emergency care, qualified nursing and memory care facility Health personnel (HCP) and residents, tribal health programs, emergency medical service providers (EMS) and other first responders, health care interpreters , traditional health workers.
- Group 2: Other long-term care facilities, including HCP and residents of residential care facilities, foster homes for adults, homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Other concentration care locations, palliative care programs, care for mobile crises and related services, Individuals working in a correctional environment.
- Group 3: HCPs in outpatient settings serving specific high-risk groups, day care services, non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), Caregivers of clinically fragile children or adults living at home.
- Group 4: All other outpatient and public health HCPs.
Phase 1B (partial)
- Nursery, preschool, K-12 and school district staff only.