Vaccine given to people not eligible for the Delaware drive-thru

DOVER, Delaware – Delaware residents who are not currently eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine nonetheless received it during a mass vaccination event attended by Governor John Carney, according to state officials.

The Public Health Division said after Saturday’s vaccination that screening would be “tightened” for vaccination events on Sunday and Monday, and those not part of the state’s priority Phase 1A, which is limited to health workers and long-term care residents. and staff, could be refused.

It is unclear how those ineligible were allowed to be vaccinated during Saturday’s drive-through event at the Motor Vehicle Division in Dover. Carney’s office billed the event as a “phase 1A vaccination clinic” as “Delaware” sprints to vaccinate individuals in phase 1A.

Officials previously said Phase 1B, targeting essential frontline workers and people 65 and older, is expected to begin by the end of the month.

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“We are still in group 1a and vaccines today were supposed to be given to health workers and first responders,” Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“A few people passed by and should have been challenged, but it wasn’t mainly because the immunization staff are volunteers and they didn’t have access to a database to verify that they were the first responders, ”added Schwartzkopf. “Others came in and got the shot because friends … called them or posted them online and told them to come get the shot because they got theirs.”

Towards the end of the event, with the number of first responders having slowed down, a decision was made to try to bring in some people aged 65 or over, ”Schwartzkopf said in the post.

“The organizers wanted to use whatever vaccines they had, so they went down to group 1b and asked Modern Maturity to bring in around 100 seniors,” he wrote, referring to a community center for people. elderly in Dover.
Andrea Wojcik, spokesperson for the Division of Public Health, said in an email on Sunday that to test the logistics and process of immunizing the population 65 and over once the state moves to phase 1B , and to use the available vaccine doses, the DPH has asked a small number of organizations with senior members to come to the drive-thru vaccination events taking place in Dover through Monday.

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Wojcik said in a subsequent email that the technology being tested was intended for the recording and management of vaccinations at drive-in clinics.

“Misinformation has been spread through social media and word of mouth which has caused some people to come out and take the line,” she wrote.

Wojcik did not explain why officials did not announce the tests in advance or when they invited high profile groups to attend.

“The core group of 65 and over was included to help test a technology project that will be used to record and process vaccinations in the next phase,” Wojcik wrote. “In addition, due to the increased risk of allergic reactions and a more complex medical history, treating a person 65 years of age or older in the vaccination process may take longer, potentially including observation times. longer after administration of the vaccine, and the DPH wanted to examine that effect on the process of the clinic driving, still in preparation for the next phase.