The first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Iowa, and according to Carroll County Public Health Nurse, Sara Schulte, they are expecting the county’s first shipment to arrive soon.
Chief Medical Officer at St. Anthony Regional Hospital, Dr. Kyle Ulveling, says this is the path back to normal.
Schulte says they are anticipating the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the Moderna vaccine today (Friday) and they are hoping that they will start shipping those immediately. She says they have been working in concert with state and federal agencies to develop a distribution plan.
The first shipment will be the largest with anticipated smaller shipments coming in on a weekly basis. Dr. Ulveling stresses they cannot simply administer the vaccine to individuals of their choice. These doses will be going to those who are patient-facing, whether that be a nurse, a doctor or a housekeeping worker who has daily contact with patients. He adds anyone receiving the vaccine cannot have an active case of COVID-19 and those that have had it recently may shift in priority levels.
Carroll County Public Health anticipates being able to administer 60 or more vaccines per day. As far as any adverse reactions are concerned, the vaccine will be given to staff at the hospital and clinics where assistance is readily available if needed. Ulveling says he is optimistic they will be able to open this up to the general public in a month to six weeks—it may actually be closer to six to eight, but when it does, it will predominately be administered through medical clinic sites. And when it comes to concerns about the rapid release of vaccines, Ulveling explains that the research and development is not as new as many people believe.
If we had to start from scratch, it would take a minimum of 18 months to two years of fundraising and another year to two years of volunteer recruitment for trials. This part of the process has been negated.
Ulveling also said the mRNA in the vaccine is not something that alarms physicians.
As for how long immunity will last from the two-doses of vaccine, Ulveling says they do not yet know if this will have to become an annual inoculation, like a flu shot. Schulte says when the vaccinations open to the general public, Carroll County Public Health will be putting out notices as to which groups will be eligible at which time. Until we reach a high level of immunity, however, both Schulte and Ulveling urge everyone to continue the great work they have been doing as of late in sticking with the mitigation methods—mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing and self-isolating as much as possible. A link to this full interview can be found with this story on our website.
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Full interview with Carroll County Public Health Nurse, Sara Schulte, and St. Anthony Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kyle Ulveling:
https://www.1380kcim.com/episode/kcim-interview-dr-kyle-ulveling-and-sara-schulte/
