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As Denton County Public Health prepares to begin offering second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to residents who have already received their first, Director Matt Richardson said logistical issues could loom between the confusion between the provider and receiver and residents who just don’t. come back for their second shot.
Richardson addressed the vaccination effort and other county-wide coronavirus developments at the Denton County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday. He said next week would be the first week that DCPH could offer the second dose of Moderna vaccine, given about 28 days apart, as it will be almost a month since his first clinic for medical service providers. emergency and home health workers took place. .
The ministry expects its second dose shipment to arrive this week, which Richardson says is the same as the first doses.
“The booster vaccine is no different from the first dose – it’s the exact same vaccine, in the exact same formulation, in the exact same volume,” Richardson said. “You can’t mix and match. If you have the Moderna or the Pfizer, you must get it [same producer] as a booster. “
Matt Richardson
But with the arrival of those second doses, Richardson said, there might be some logistical hurdles. First, he acknowledged that not everyone who received the first injection will come back for their second – an issue he said providers across the county will need to address.
“I’m sure it won’t be a 100% return, so we’ll fix that,” Richardson said. “This is going to be, without a doubt, a national and national concern.”
For now, DCPH’s plan is to give only second doses to residents it also gave the first one, Richardson adding that the ministry is not recommending switching providers for this second shot. This recommendation is due to the state’s allocation system, which, he explained, will ship vaccines specifically for use as second doses to providers based on their initial allocations, so that everyone has enough. .
State officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott himself, have already addressed this concern after some providers set aside some of their initial allocations in order to have enough to vaccinate recipients twice.
However, some of this confusion seems to persist among both beneficiaries and providers, as Ward 4 Commissioner Dianne Edmondson said at the meeting that she had received calls from residents whose original providers were calling them. said they were “alone” for the second dose. . In response, Richardson reiterated the state’s advice to suppliers, adding that it would be difficult for DCPH to take over.
“Even if a pharmacy or doctor’s office says differently … the allowances will follow – if they gave the first 100 doses, they will receive a booster allowance of another 100, and they are expected to vaccinate. the second dose to these same patients. Richardson said. “If we have extra doses, maybe we can open them to the public. I don’t know how we would coordinate that.
DCPH spokeswoman Jennifer Rainey said by email that the department had received the 6,000 doses assigned to it for the week and that it would be holding two drive-thru clinics at Lewisville’s First Baptist Church on Wednesday and Friday. . Each will have 3,000 vaccines, the same size as last Thursday’s clinic at CH Collins Athletic Complex in Denton, and will still be available by appointment only through DCPH’s online waitlist.
Plans for the future clinic, Rainey said, are still pending as DCPH works through the details of offering both the first and second doses of the vaccine.
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