Onondaga County: Vaccinations underway, nursing homes scheduled for next week

“Hopefully after the Moderna vaccine comes in. Right now, we have some Pfizer [vaccines]. Moderna should be coming in soon. Hopefully, at that point, our at-risk health workers at every hospital in the region, not just Onondaga County but in Cayuga and Madison and Oswego and Cortland will have receive vaccinations,” he added.

An advisory committee of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration late Thursday afternoon voted to recommend an emergency use authorization of the Moderna vaccine.

After health-care workers, then the process moves to the second phase which involves essential workers and senior citizens.

“Those details are still being worked out. That’s going to be a work in progress,” said McMahon.

The state is directing each regional vaccination 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,” the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Wednesday news release.

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.

Nursing-home vaccinations

Vaccinations at Onondaga County’s nursing homes will begin Monday. McMahon noted that those vaccinations are under a contract with the federal government, rather than one with New York State.

“Each facility partners with a different pharmacy. They set up a time for the pharmacy to come in and get the vaccination to the residents,” said McMahon.

Those inoculations will target “hundreds and hundreds of our most vulnerable people,” which is “really good news,” he added.

The county executive also noted that 30 percent of Onondaga County’s virus-related hospitalizations are coming from nursing homes.