McHenry County Government in partnership with MCDH answer questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine in virtual town hall meeting
MCHENRY COUNTY- Members of the McHenry County body of government partnered with the McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH), to provide some insight on the county’s plans to future COVID-19 vaccine rollout as well as answered questions from the public in a virtual town hall meeting format streamed on Facebook Tuesday, Feb. 9.
The hosts of the meeting included McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler, MCDH Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson, MCDH Director of Nursing Susan Karras, and Public Health and Community Services Committee Chairwoman Lori Parrish.
Buehler opened the meeting by stating that McHenry County officials are aware of the concerns regarding the speed at which the COVID-19 vaccine is being rolled out, but stated this is due largely in part to scarce supplies not being able to meet the high demands.
Before opening the floor to Adamson, Buehler stated, “We have a plan, a good plan for getting the vaccine into as many arms as possible. But just like other counties and other states who are at the mercy of supply and demand, they’re facing the very same issues that we are.”
Adamson continued the meeting by explaining the current plan of action and the process into how McHenry County is allocated the COVID-19 vaccines. She made mention of how McHenry County received their first allotment of vaccines two weeks later than some other counties due to lower death rates.
“Vaccines are allotted on a weekly basis. They vary in size and type of vaccine received. Second doses are automatically shipped when its time to schedule the second dose. Then, what we do is we distribute vaccines to our community partners. That includes the hospital system, pharmacies, and other clinics, and with that vaccine we ship ancillary supplies that come with the vaccine,” Adamson said.
Karras then jumped in to describe the County’s next steps in vaccinating eligible individuals within priority groups, while outlining some data points into the current status of the distribution process.
She stated that McHenry County has a goal to vaccinate 80% of the population which would come out to be 246,856 individuals. In order to obtain that goal, the county would need 493,712 doses of the vaccine. Since Dec. 28, McHenry County has received a total of 27,854 doses.
The county reserved 6,800 doses for the closed Points of Distribution (POD) clinics that took place at Huntley High School and Woodstock North High School on Feb. 11 through Feb. 12. These clinics were used to expand vaccinations to teachers and other educators throughout McHenry County.
“Currently we provide allotments to Jewel in Crystal Lake and Cary and Meijer in Algonquin and McHenry. We have been informed by the state that all allotments are being distributed to all McHenry County Jewel locations as well as Mariano’s in Crystal Lake. We anticipate more pharmacies in McHenry County will be onboarded soon. The current vaccine manufacturers are not ideal for primary care practice settings,” Karras said.
The reason being, according to Karras, is due to the nature of the multi-dose vials.
“Moderna is a 10-dose vial and Pfizer is a five-dose vial. Once the vial is punctured, there is a specific time to administer all the doses in that vial as there are no preservatives used in these vaccines. For example, if your doctor or nurse practitioner administers a dose to you at 3 o’clock from a new vial, he or she would need to give the remaining nine doses within six hours or they would be wasted. Not a popular responsibility for an already very busy office,” Karras explained.
The meeting then shifted to answering some questions submitted by the public.
Adamson clarified that individuals who got their initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic outside of McHenry County, could get their second dose in a McHenry County clinic though they would need to register for an appointment online, like everyone else. Individuals would also need to bring the vaccination card they received that contains the manufacturer of the vaccine, lot number, and approximate date for the second dose to be administered.
Adamson and Karras also recommended for individuals to sign up at multiple pharmacies who offer the vaccine in addition to MCDH. They explained that a person will not lose their standing at an MCDH ran clinic if they do this.
As for other points of interest, Karras mentioned that the county has secured three locations for drive-thru vaccination clinics, but due to the current inclement weather conditions, they have delayed those clinics for the time being.
As for individuals who are unable to leave their homes in order to be present at a clinic, Karras stated that the county is working through the logistics in trying to figure out a plan of action to vaccinate the homebound population.
“We are trying to stand up some strike teams which would consist of some nurses that could go out and help vaccinate the homebound population. We will be reaching out and have a relationship with home health agencies in our county so we can identify who these individuals are. You know, the challenges again, that piercing of that vial. Once we’ve pierced that vial, the clock starts beginning,” Karras said.
“So, we’re looking at this and what the logistics would mean as far as who are these people. How do we identify these people in the community and how do we kind of map out to get to them so that we can deliver these doses in a safe way, in the home and not waste anything? We also have to explore, what about reactions?”
For those wondering, Karras said there is no evidence that interchanging the different manufactured doses (i.e., getting a first dose of the Moderna vaccine then getting the second dose of a Pfizer vaccine or vice versa) will make the effectiveness of the vaccine stronger.
Though Karras did mention that it is okay to take an over-the-counter pain reliever should there be lingering discomfort or muscle aches and pains around the injection site area. She recommends this only to be done after the vaccine has been administered.
While not every question was answered at the virtual town hall meeting, the meeting hosts did ensure attendees that they would continue to provide updates to the public as often as they could, and also directed attendees to their Frequently Asked Questions section on the McHenry County website at mchenrycountyil.gov.
