400 doses on the way

Union County Public Health has been notified it will receive 400 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, Public Health Nurse Robin Sevier said during the Union County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday.

The vaccine will be available from public health free of charge. Sevier said she does not have a date for delivery of the vaccine, but when it arrives, it will be administered to health care workers. The 400 doses will cover approximately one-third of the health care workers who live in Union County. The Centers for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Health have advised not to hold back any vaccine for the second round of doses as they expect more doses to be available within the 28 day timeframe for the second dose of the Moderna vaccine.

Decisions on who gets the vaccine are based on a tier system, Sevier said.

“We will follow the phase 1A, 1B prioritization that the CDC has put into place to vaccinate the health care workers,” she said.

The Moderna vaccine does not require the deep freeze for transportation and storage that the Pfizer vaccine does. Moderna only requires -4 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the -94 degrees needed for the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna vaccine is also stable at refrigerator temperatures for 30 days.

Both long term care facilities in Union County have partnered with CVS pharmacies to receive the Pfizer vaccine, Sevier said.

Tracking the vaccine

Public health is required to enter the name and address for recipients of the vaccine into the state Immunization Registry Information system within 24 hours. This will enable public health to track who has received the vaccine and which version they received. Sevier said this is no different from any other vaccine.

“That’s not a new system, that’s our same IRIS system we’ve been using for years,” she said. “Immunization records are still private information, but they aren’t as bound as other HIPAA laws, other medical records, because in a pandemic, immunization history is important so that public health officials can know who needs vaccinated and if they’ve been exposed have they already had the vaccine.”

After the vaccine

The CDC said those who receive the vaccine continue to wear masks, social distance and observe other COVID-19 protocols until more is understood about how the vaccine works and how many people get vaccinated.

“As more studies (are done) and more people get vaccinated, hopefully, down the road that may change,” Sevier said.

Update

Monday in Union County the 14 day positivity rate had fallen to 15%, Sevier said. That number dropped to 12.6% as of Tuesday morning according to coronavirus.iowa.gov.

“This is ... much improved,” she said.

Sevier said Union County has had a total of 1005 positive cases. According to coronavirus.iowa.gov 735 patients have recovered.

The Union County Board of Supervisors meets weekly 9 a.m. Monday at the Union County Courthouse, 300 N. Pine St. The supervisors are still meeting in person at this time, but the public is encouraged to submit comments for public forum by mail, email or telephone to help limit the gathering to 10 participants.