We want to start by thanking the community for all of your patience and understanding during the vaccine rollout. We know that you are anxious to get vaccinated. And we understand that the citizens in our community are frustrated with the lack of communication and information regarding the COVID vaccine and our “vaccination plan” for Marshall County. Please understand it is difficult, if not impossible, to make a vaccination plan when we have no vaccine, do not know when we will receive vaccine, how much vaccine we will receive, and what the “directives of the day” will be from state at the time we do receive vaccine.
All of that being said, we learned from State yesterday that we may receive 200-300 doses of Moderna vaccine over the next 2 to 3 weeks at a rate of 100 doses per week beginning the week of February 8th. If this come to fruition, here is our plan:
- We will call individuals currently on our waiting list who meet 1a and 1b (age 70 +) criteria and schedule them for a vaccine appointment within seven days of receipt of the vaccine.
- We encourage people to answer their phone when they see a call from 270-527-1496 (the health department main line) because we will not be able to leave messages or make follow up calls. Because the shelf-life for this vaccine is so short, and we are required to administer all vaccine received within 7 days, we will have no choice but to call down the list and make appointments with those who answer.
- Some people have asked if we will be transferring names from our list to the regional vaccination sites. The answer is NO. Anyone who wishes to get their vaccination from a regional site must contact that site for an appointment. Please understand that where you get your prime dose is where you must return to receive your boost dose.
- Please continue to be patient, there are currently thousands of people on the waiting list here at the Marshall County Health Department. If we receive the 200 or 300 doses of vaccine, we will get it administered within seven days beginning with the people on our list as described above. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to call everyone or speak with every person who calls for information. Please refer to the information we have on our webpage. Other than the announcement yesterday about the possible 200- 300 doses coming over the next couple of weeks, nothing has been shared with the health departments.
- If vaccine becomes more readily available in the coming weeks and months, the Marshall County Health Department will focus our efforts on getting every dose administered within seven days of receipt. We will call down the names on our waiting list and schedule appointments with everyone who answers our call. Our staff is prepared to work longer hours and hold special vaccination clinics if needed. In other words, we will do everything in our power to serve the needs of our citizens as we have always done.
Once again, thank you for your support, patience and understanding! We are doing our best with the time and resources we have at this moment.