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Earlier today, nurse practitioner Lindsey Mendez, a member of the county’s vaccine task force, answered questions from local media about the status of the county’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
Questions were due ahead of today’s big state announcement that the vaccine would be available to anyone 50 and over starting next week, and for every Californian from mid-April, so the county’s implementation of these new guidelines was not addressed.
Video above, approximate transcript below.
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Hello, we’re here for the March 25 media availability with Lindsey Mendez, family nurse practitioner and COVID-19 task force member. Thanks for being with us. Would you like to start by speaking to the community?
Yes. Hi Humboldt. It’s Lindsay Mendez again here to give you a brief update on immunization and the changes that are being made at the state and county levels and how the vaccine will be distributed as we move forward. Right now I would like to tell the community that we have had a small allowance in the past from Janssen, but at the moment we have not received any allowance to give. We receive Moderna and Pfizer on a regular basis, as we have in the past, but we fluctuate based on the amounts we receive. That said, we will continue to have vaccination clinics throughout the county with our partners and the public health department and we encourage you to get the first appointment that is offered to you with the vaccine that is offered to you at this time. moment. And always remember to distance yourself socially, wear your mask, and wash your hands because not everyone is vaccinated in Humboldt County or around the world.
From KMUD News: Can you share more information on how vaccine delivery will change with the next switch to MyTurn …. are you supporting the change?
MyTurn is a platform that allows people to register for the vaccine in the state of California. This platform is designed so that in many languages you can come in and see if you are eligible to get vaccinated and to get an appointment. Right now in Humboldt County we don’t currently use MyTurn but many other countries are and we are collecting information on how it works. What we do know is that they are changing things in their platform so zip codes .. may have some restrictions and we are not sure yet. However, as we switch, we are confident that our public health department staff will be able to train and onboard workers who are in clinics to use MyTurn appropriately for documentation and inventory of the patient. vaccine. And we hope that as it opens, we will be able to help people register for an appointment that they can get when it becomes available. Thank you.
According to KMUD News: We understand that the My Turn system only works with two hospital computer programs, which none of the Humboldt County hospitals are currently using. What impact will this have on local deployment for staff and the public?
At this time, I cannot comment on how the local hospitals will handle the MyTurn switch with their electronic medical record systems, but I would say that public health is handling it in a proper way for their staff to learn MyTurn, on two from the public side and also from the clinic side on how to register patients in clinics and also on the use of the documentation system.
From KMUD News: Will people outside our area be eligible to receive a vaccine in Humboldt County?
I would first like to say that the goal of the state of California and the whole of the United States is to end the pandemic and to vaccinate everyone, including our neighbors. Even the people with whom we don’t necessarily share a riding. That said, we are talking to MyTurn, the workers of this platform, and discussing with Blue Shield about the concerns surrounding people who are eligible for the vaccine who may not be in our county. We don’t know what the turnout will be for this discussion, but we are making it a priority for everyone in the county to get vaccinated at this time.
From KMUD News: Do you think any other vaccines will be approved for use in the United States?
I’m not sure how to answer this question as we haven’t been made aware that the FDA is looking to approve any vaccines yet, but we will keep you posted as we find out about other vaccines arriving in the United States. . States.
From Redhead Black Belt: So Hum Health has started offering the vaccine to a wider range of local residents, is that going to happen in North Humboldt as well?
Right now the state advisory committee is giving us direction on how we’re going to open up to more of the population. These guidelines are set by the advisory committee and our local vaccinators all use the advisory committee guidelines to approve immunization status. We will be using the directive that people aged 16 to 64 with high risk health conditions – which you can find on the state website – will be approved and we encourage people to call their caregivers. primary care providers and also call the Common Information Center to switch to the interest form if you do not have a primary care provider. Please be aware at this time that vaccine supply has not always been a static number in our county and that we will contact everyone as soon as possible with the amount of vaccine offered to us.
From the redheaded black belt: Anecdotally, some residents of Humboldt County have said they are waiting for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in order to avoid having to give a second dose. They are delaying making appointments for currently available vaccines. Is this a bad idea? Why or why not?
As a healthcare professional, I fully understand people who want to choose which vaccine they would like to receive, but I want to remind everyone that the vaccine they have is the vaccine they should receive. So waiting for the Johnson and Johnson isn’t necessarily helpful in achieving herd immunity or getting vaccinated quickly. We also do not know how the supply of Janssen will arrive in Humboldt County and in what quantities and therefore if you are offered a vaccine we recommend that you take it.
From the red-haired black belt: The Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been evaluated to have an efficacy rate of approximately 66% to 72%. Can you explain why the effectiveness rate of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine differs regionally and if you know what that number looks like for Humboldt County in particular?
Therefore, we currently do not have data on the regional effectiveness of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in Humboldt County, as it has not been researched in this way. The ongoing drug trials around the world for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and other vaccines will continue to provide us with data on regional issues, but we do not have any at this time. What we do know about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is that it is effective, as reported between 66% and 72% for the large population studied around the world. And we also know that it will decrease death and serious illness by 100% with hospitalization, so we understand that this is a great vaccine.
According to the Times-Standard: Will the county lower certain thresholds for age, BMI or other factors to make vaccines more available to prevent doses from going unused?
I would like to tell the community that no vaccine is currently in use in Humboldt County. Limited supply is more of a barrier than having too many unused vaccines. As we open ourselves to the general population, to those with high risk conditions from many age groups, we need to be aware that the supply will dictate how quickly and efficiently we can get through these. populations and that we will never waste doses.
According to the Times-Standard: Have there been any difficulties in staffing vaccination sites with staff who can serve Spanish speakers or Hmong speakers?
Yes, we have coordinated with community partners both bilingual and bicultural services for our immunization clinics and we continue to request and recruit members to come forward to help us with administrative and clerical work with the immunization staff.
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