Health Dept. to begin giving COVID vaccine

Posted on December 30, 2020

After receiving a shipment of 500 doses, the Department of Health-Taylor (DOH-Taylor) will begin administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Taylor County senior citizens next week.

The free vaccines will be offered by appointment only to individuals who are 65 years of age or older throughout the month of January, with the first appointments scheduled for Tuesday, January 5.

Previously-available dates included Jan. 5, Jan. 6, Jan. 8, Jan. 12, Jan. 13 and Jan. 15, however, due to the limited number of slots filling up quickly, DOH-Taylor is currently working to expand appointments beyond Jan. 15.

With only 60 appointments available per day, interested individuals are encouraged to call DOH-Taylor at (850) 584-5087 (press 2 for medical services) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to check availability and schedule an appointment.

The DOH is currently in the first phase of a drafted three-part plan to distribute COVID vaccines.

Phase One, which is based on a projected limited supply of vaccines, prioritizes hospitals, long-term healthcare residents and staff, as well as first responders.

To qualify for a vaccine during this first phase, members of the general community at large who are not included in Phase One above must meet the following criteria:

• Must be at least 65 years of age,

• Must not be currently experiencing COVID-19 symptoms,

• Must not be currently under quarantine or have any known exposure to COVID-19 within the last 14 days,

• Must not have a history of anaphylaxis,

• Must be available to receive the follow-up injection 28 days after the first injection.

The Moderna vaccine, which began trickling into Taylor County on Dec. 23, is a two-part vaccine that requires a priming dose followed by a booster shot 28 days later.

The Moderna vaccine boasts a 94.1 percent success rate at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases.

The most common side effects include: injection site pain, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and joint pain. Some people in the clinical trials have reported fever. (See fact sheet on page 10.)

Nearly a dozen of Taylor County’s frontline healthcare workers received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine last Wednesday from Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH), a partner of Doctors’ Memorial Hospital (DMH).

DMH interim CEO Lauren Fiason-Clark, TMH’s administrator for regional development, population health and telemedicine, secured a portion of TMH’s total allotment of 6,700 doses of the vaccine and personally transported them to Perry, where they were immediately administered to interested local healthcare workers.

“Through our partnership with Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, we received 60 doses of the Moderna vaccine. We safely administered 10 vaccines to our healthcare heroes. No adverse side effects were reported,” DMH spokesperson Sara Sue Grambling said last week.

On Monday, Fiason-Clark reported that not all doses had yet been administered, as some staff elected to wait until this week due to the Christmas holiday.

Fiason-Clark said she expects all doses to be administered this week to staff at DMH and outpatient clinics in the community.

So far, the “only reported side effects have been a little soreness at the site of vaccine (in the arm),” Fiason-Clark reported.

Fiason-Clark added, “We anticipate receiving more doses from the Taylor County Health Department, who is working with DMH on a distribution plan going forward.”

CVS and Walgreens have also contracted with the state of Florida to provide vaccinations to long-term care facility residents and staff.

Marshall Health and Rehabilitation has not responded to numerous requests for comment regarding the vaccination of its residents. The local long-term care facility has reported the death of one COVID-positive resident, and two COVID-positive residents were recently transferred to another facility as of Dec. 28.

The county has reported 59 cases connected to long-term care facilities, however, some of those cases may be associated with Taylor County residents who work at nursing homes in neighboring counties.

Locally, 247 of Taylor County’s total of 1,914 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in individuals who are 65 years of age or older.

Approximately 8.5% (21) of those cases have died. The 21 deaths of individuals 65 years or older account for 84% of Taylor County’s overall COVD death toll of 25.

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