By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The COVID-19 pandemic is over, but like the flu, new vaccines are developed each year targeting the different variants that are expected to be prevalent.
In anticipation of Wood County residents – especially senior citizens – wanting updated vaccines, the Wood County Health Department is ordering the vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control for this fall. But the board support for buying the vaccines was not unanimous.
Last month, when the Wood County Board of Health was asked to vote on the purchase of COVID vaccines for this fall, two board members voted “no” for the vaccines intended to be given during clinics at local senior centers.
Board members Sonja Apple Chamberlain and D.J. Mears, who didn’t explain their “no” votes during the June 13 meeting, were in the minority, and the COVID vaccines were approved for purchase by the 10-member board.
The CDC recommends the updated COVID-19 vaccines – Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax – to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
When asked later about their “no” votes, Mears and Chamberlain offered different reasons for not supporting the purchase of COVID vaccines for senior center clinics this fall.
Mears said his reason was economic. Chamberlain said she did not trust the science behind COVID vaccines, and her own research convinced her there were more risks from getting the vaccine than from contracting COVID.
Mears, of Portage, pointed to the vaccine clinics held by the Wood County Health Department after the initial rush by residents to get the vaccines. Mears recalled the clinic staff would have to throw out vaccine doses from open vials if they were not used within a few hours.
He was afraid vaccine doses would again go unused, Mears said.
But that is no longer an issue, according to Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison, who said the vaccine is now arriving in single dose vials.
Robison recalled those early days of the vaccine, when it was so in demand that there were no wasted doses. As the pandemic went on, the health department would create an on-call list of people interested, resulting in just a “handful” of doses that didn’t make it into arms, Robison said.
But as the demand dropped off, the number of people showing up for vaccine clinics dwindled. Walk-ins were accepted, but the supply was greater than the demand, Robison remembered.
The health department is equipped with ultra cold freezers, which helps preserve the vaccines. But the problem was with open vials of the Pfizer vaccines, which held six doses, and Moderna, which held 10 doses.
The vials could only be open six hours, before the vaccine had to be discarded. To be as efficient as possible, health department staff doing home visits to seniors mapped their routes to be able to use all the doses in a six-hour period.
But with single-dose vials, there will be no waste, Robison said.
As for Chamberlain, of rural Rudolph, her vote against purchasing the vaccine for senior centers is due to her disbelief in COVID research performed by public health agencies, CDC, FDA, and NIH.
“I do not believe the science,” Chamberlain said. “It’s not offering the benefit they say it is.”
“My research” shows that the public is not being made aware of the risks of the vaccine, she said.
“It’s my personal belief, I cannot support something that I believe can cause harm,” Chamberlain said.
Robison pointed out the vaccine is only given to people who voluntarily want the vaccine. He noted public health’s education emphasis on the COVID vaccines – including potential risks – adding that the risks of COVID are far greater.
“I think this is our responsibility to make the information available and make vaccines available,” Robison said.
“All of these vaccines are only provided to people who want them. No one is forced to get them,” Robison said.
“By making the vaccines available, it ensures we have vaccines for people who want them.”
As for concerns about having board members who don’t believe in the public health benefits of the COVID vaccine, Robison pointed out that while two board members were opposed, the others present approved the vaccine purchase.
Robison also said that Chamberlain and Mears may well be representing the beliefs of the more rural areas they represent on the board.
“Our board was designed to represent the various communities across the county,” he said. “The way they’re voting is not only their perspective, but may be the perspective of those in their communities.”
