The MVHS COVID vaccine planning group has been working to develop the protocols for distribution along with the infrastructure and plan to administer the vaccines.
“This is an exciting day for the Mohawk Valley as the COVID-19 vaccine provides a light at the end of the COVID tunnel,” Dr. Kent Hall, chief physician executive at MVHS, said. “While it will likely take close to nine months to get everyone in the community vaccinated, this is a huge step in the right direction get the pandemic under control so that we can return to some sort of normalcy. I commend all those involved in getting the vaccine developed and distributed in unprecedented fashion. It will save many, many lives.”
Regional vaccination hub
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The state is directing each hub to work with local stakeholders and the community to both “build trust” in the vaccine and ensure each plan is “tailored to meet each region’s unique needs,” Cuomo’s office said.
For example, the needs of communities in the North Country will vary greatly from the needs of New York City.
All plans must allow for “efficient and expedited” delivery and administration of the vaccine and be based on a “fair and equitable” strategy which focuses on communities with lower vaccination rates and poorer health outcomes.
Plans must be submitted to the state by the first week of January to ensure they are in place and ready for activation once enough doses of the vaccine are in hand to begin the second phase in late January.
About the distribution, administration
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health have provided guidance for those who will be eligible for the first round of vaccines. Under the guidelines, hospital-based front-line workers are the first priority group for the vaccine, as the first shipment included “limited doses.”
An algorithm was developed to prioritize who will be receiving the vaccine and when, MVHS said. The algorithm uses a three-step process for prioritizing vaccine-recipient groups.
The process involves three questions. First, does the employee or provider work in an area with a large number of COVID-19 patients? Secondly, what is the frequency with which an employee or provider has direct patient contact that places them at risk? and finally, what is that individual’s risk by age group (those over 65 are given highest priority)?
Nursing home residents and employees are also prioritized for vaccines, but they have a “different, distinct” process for vaccination than the one that MVHS will use.
At the same time, MVHS also notes that everyone will eventually be vaccinated, but “it’s just being done in different phases.”
The second phase will include areas such as medical/surgical units; the psychiatric unit (FSLH); procedural areas; and general radiology. Then health-care workers and providers with “no or rare” patient contact will be eligible for vaccination.
The vaccine will be available to members of the community “within the coming months” as more vaccines are shipped, but MVHS anticipates “getting everyone vaccinated can take up to at least nine months.”
Once you are vaccinated, MVHS advises that people “should not change” their safety behaviors. MVHS also notes that getting vaccinated will involve two doses.
Whether it’s after your first or second dose, MVHS says “it is important” that people continue to wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance, and “avoid any indoor gatherings.”
