In the beginning when Moderna and Pfizer and even Johnson & Johnson, which was paused in April, were making their vaccines available, healthcare centers and clinics saw a rush from many to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
That rush has slowed, according to Kaylee Smith, infection prevention nurse at Memorial Community Hospital and Health System (MCH).
“The mass vaccinations have dropped. The last two weeks, we had five first dosers and the rest are second dosers,” she said. “Everyone that wanted it got it.”
They continue to try to make it available.
“We tried different outlets. We were afraid the elderly were waiting and were worried that they were waiting for a phone call,” she said. “We tried getting our number out on the radio and online to tell them to call. Some elderly said they were on the list and never got called or couldn’t be found on the list.”
Smith said the fact the vaccines are new and the results of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines may have deterred some people from getting vaccinated. She said a lot of people were waiting to see how other people were doing with the vaccinations before getting their own.
“The numbers of infections continue to go down and I think the vaccine does work,” she said. “I think the rural area numbers are better than I expected. The people that did get it were so excited. We had a huge rush at the beginning.”
Jeff Gardner, clinics operations director at MCH, said after the numbers for the mass vaccinations fell off, they brought them back in house and continually offer them at their clinics in Blair, Fort Calhoun and Tekamah.
“Those who have wanted it have gotten it,” he said. “We offer vaccinations to every patient that comes to our clinics.”
Gardner said they have a layer effect of identifying those who have not been vaccinated so that they can offer them the vaccine.
“We ask them if they have received their COVID-19 vaccine. If they say yes, we are good to go. If they say no, we offer it at the time of visit,” he said. “Not only do registration staff ask, but the physicians and nurses.”
Despite the ask, Gardner said they still have a fair number of people who just decline.
“We have ample supply on hand in stock through our pharmacy so we are prepared to do it at all three of our clinics,” he said. “In Fort Calhoun and Tekamah, since numbers are even lower, we will schedule a clinic for one day of the week, add patients' names to a list to get them all done in one day, making sure we are maximizing our doses of the vaccines.”
