By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After more than 250,000 deaths and nearly nine months of fighting COVID-19, the nation’s efforts are being shifted to distributing a vaccine.
In Wood County, the planning is underway to provide adequate storage for the vaccine, to get it to people who need it first, and to convince people to roll up their sleeves for a drug that has been developed relatively quickly.
Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison said the logistics are still being worked on with the Ohio Department of Health and the state’s 113 local health departments, hospitals and long-term care facilities.
“Things are moving pretty fast,” Robison said on Tuesday.
Who gets it first?
The prioritization of the population is underway.
“That will really drive how the vaccine is allocated,” Robison said.
Top on the priority list are healthcare workers, first responders and residents of long-term care facilities.
“We’re going to be there for a while,” he predicted. “We’re trying to protect people who interact with others who may be compromised.”
“We’re already crunching data for how many people might be in the priority groups,” he said.
As vaccine production ramps up, Robison expects the next rung of priorities to be recommended.
High efficacy
Within the past week, both Pfizer and Moderna announced their success in developing COVID-19 vaccines with efficacy rates of 95%. Pfizer initially reported its vaccine had a 90% success rate, but after further tests this week, that was bumped up to 95%.
As a public health official, Robison is relieved that the vaccines are so effective.
“A vaccine of this efficacy is really a great tool for stopping transmission in our community,” he said.
Double doses
The vaccines, however, come with a few tricky characteristics.
First, they must be stored at extremely cold temperatures. Second, people must receive two doses of the same type of vaccine several days apart.
The Pfizer vaccine comes in two doses, with the second one to be given 21 days after the first. The Moderna doses must be given 28 days apart.
“We’re going to be working very hard to make sure people know how to do that – that they have to go back,” Robison said.
Keeping it cold – very cold
The Pfizer vaccine requires storage at -76 to -112 degrees Fahrenheit. It can stay in a packing container with two refreshers of dry ice for up to 10 days. After the vaccine is removed from cold storage, the health department has five days to use it, according to Robison.
“It’s definitely more challenging,” he said of the ultra cold requirements.
The Moderna vaccine must be stored at -4 to -20 degrees Fahrenheit. That can be done in standard freezer storage, so it would be easier managed at the local level, he said.
Both vaccines come with data logs, so local health officials can tell if the temperatures remained low enough during transportation.
The Wood County Health Department is working on a memorandum of understanding with Bowling Green State University for providing cold storage. The agency is also looking into leasing an ultra cold freezer and contracting with a dry ice supplier.
But if all goes as planned, the health department won’t have the vaccines sitting around in storage for long. “Our goal is to move this as quickly as possible,” Robison said.
How much will it cost?
The details about the cost of the vaccine are still unknown. If it is considered a federal asset, the vaccine itself could be free of charge, but health care providers would be able to charge a small administrative fee, Robison said.
The health department is planning to charge no out-of-pocket fees.
“That’s what we anticipate,” he said.
Confident in the cure
The health department is being told that COVID-19 vaccines could be available sometime in December. Pfizer has said it will have 50 million doses by the end of the year – but that is a drop in the bucket globally, Robison said.
The timeline follows the predictions made at the beginning of the pandemic, he said.
“For all the concern about the safety, the original timelines are on schedule,” he said. “What has not been sacrificed is efficacy and safety.”
Robison said he is confident that the vaccines are safe.
“I feel comfortable getting it myself,” he said.
Prodding the public
There is no talk about making the vaccines mandatory, Robison said. But Wood County Health Department will be urging people to roll up their sleeves.
“We’re going to really encourage people to take it,” he said.
The results won’t be immediate, Robison cautioned.
“We may not be able to ensure herd immunity at the beginning of the vaccine,” he said.
In between the two doses, people will need to continue taking COVID-19 precautions.
“You can’t take your mask off when you get your first dose,” Robison explained.
But it will be the start to a solution.
“If we really have an uptick of the vaccine, we should see a real decline in COVID,” he said. “Then we can see life on the other side of COVID.”
