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FAIRMONT -- With COVID-19 vaccines slowly becoming available, there are a lot of questions as to how distribution works on a local level. According to information provided by Community Health sanitarian Tim Langer of Community Health and Human Services of Faribault and Martin Counties, there is a very limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota. Langer notes that while questions persist, there must be patience.
"The emphasis really is on patience, because we've only received a very limited amount of vaccines at this point, and it's been going to those people in the 1A category," Langer said. "Over the next month or two I think we'll hopefully reach the point where everybody who wants to get vaccinated can get vaccinated."
The 1A category of vaccine recipients includes hospital staff, skilled nursing facilities (staff and residents), certified EMS/EMT workers, COVID testers, COVID vaccinators, assisted living facilities (staff and residents), urgent care settings/clinics, dialysis centers, dental offices, home health care (staff), group homes (staff & residents), pharmacists, correctional health care providers, school nurses, funeral home staff, specialty health care providers including optometry, audiology and chiropractic care and staff with direct client care (with no ability to work remotely) working in public health, mental and behavioral health settings.
Other information provided by Langer states that Minnesota is currently receiving 60,000 doses of vaccine per week, which is just 1 percent of the supply needed for the population of 5.6 million people.
"It's not coming in quick," Langer said. "We can only give out whatever we have."
On the national level, a recent statement from the Biden administration said it was getting ready to secure an additional 200 million doses of vaccines that would increase the available supply by 50 percent, bringing the total to 600 million doses by summer. Langer also shared his thoughts on the national situation.
"I believe they have invoked the Defense Production Act," Langer said. "I don't know if that relates directly to the vaccines or if it's just PPE stuff, but I think that there definitely is going to be a renewed emphasis on getting people vaccinated and that's my hope."
"One of the issues we're dealing with now is that the native coronavirus is starting to mutate. So we've got a UK varient, a South African varient and a Brazil varient. There's evidence that those spread easier, and we're not certain if they're more serious or not. But when you have a virus like the UK varient that can spread up to 80 percent easier than they native version, that's concerning."
Turning back to localized concerns, Langer said that it's important for people to understand just how effective vaccination can be.
"The Moderna and Pfizer vaccine are up to 90 to 95 percent efficacy, which is pretty amazing when we have influenza vaccines that are only in the 50 to 60 percent range," Langer said. "So when it comes to your turn, please get vaccinated because I think that will help us out of this pandemic. We need a fairly high number of people to obtain immunity, either through having the illness or through vaccinations to achieve herd immunity."
Langer also touted routine safety measures such as social distancing, washing hands, and wearing a mask. He also offered comment on Dr. Anthony Fauci's recommendation that people consider wearing two masks for increased effectiveness.
"What I'm hearing is that with these new variants that are spreading easier, a surgical mask and then a cloth mask over the top of that will give an extra layer of protection," Langer said. "It certainly doesn't hurt, and Dr. Fauci has indicated that is a wise thing to be doing if you're in a high-risk category."
Mayo Health System Fairmont and United Hospital District have exhausted their allocation of 1st dose vaccine and have not received information about the next shipments. The threshold was set last week by Minnesota Department of Health to administer 90 percent of the doses within 72 hours of receiving the shipment and the remaining 10% within 7 days. All three agencies are on track to meet this metric moving forward.
Finally, Langer directs people to their Facebook page where they can take a survey and provide contact information.
"On our Facebook page we currently have a survey where folks 65 and older can put in their contact information and we will eventually be calling folks from that list, and for people who do not have computer access we are trying to get their information into our system on a case by case basis," Langer said. "As people call in we can input that information for them."
People can access the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VaxsurveyFM. If a person does not have internet access or needs help completing the form, they can call (507) 238-4757.