Local Health Dept. ready to roll out vaccine

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert County Health District is ready to implement COVID-19 vaccinations — just as soon as the vaccines make it here.

County Environmental Health Director Britt Menchhofer said local health officials don’t have a date yet when the first vaccine shipment will arrive here, but thinks it will be relatively soon.

“At this time, we actually still do not know when we will be getting the vaccine,” Menchhofer said. “”I know they’re talking, potentially, this Wednesday, but it may be next week.”

Fortunately, she added, the local health district conducts planning sessions on a regular basis to prepare for mass vaccinations and other health emergency situations, so there are plans in place to deal with a vaccine rollout.

Already, health officials have contacted first responders in the county — police, fire, and EMS workers, primarily — to determine who among them wants to be inoculated when the health district gets its first shipment of 100 doses of vaccine, so it can quickly schedule inoculations at the health department after the vaccine arrives.

Menchhofer said most of the long-term nursing facilities are contracting with the local CVS pharmacy to inoculate their staffs and residents.

However, she noted that any nursing facilities not doing so can contact the health department to schedule inoculations.

Van Wert Health should also be receiving its own shipment of vaccine to inoculate its staff members and, potentially, at-risk patients.

Menchhofer said she wasn’t sure which vaccine the health department will receive, but said she thinks it may be the Moderna-developed vaccine that was recently approved by the FDA.

Unfortunately, the lack of communication from state officials has left local health officials mostly unsure of when and how vaccines will become available locally.

The vaccines being shipped are part of the state’s Phase 1a rollout plan, which prioritizes first responders, local healthcare providers, and long-term nursing facilities.

Menchhofer did compliment county residents for recent efforts to wear masks and reduce physical contact with others.

“We really appreciate that our community has been working as hard as they can to lower numbers (of cases),” she noted, adding that case numbers have declined recently.

She continued to stress that local residents should wear masks and maintain social distancing, while also making the decision to stay home during the holidays this year to avoid the possibility of exposing family members to the virus.

In the meantime, health officials are hopeful that county residents will see the benefits of getting inoculated when enough of the vaccine becomes available, so that it will eventually be safe for people to resume their normal lives again.

Menchhofer noted that those who receive the COVID-19 vaccines may experience some mostly minor side effects from the medication, but stressed that, because the vaccines do not contain “live” virus, there is no possibility of anyone getting COVID-19 from inoculations. 

Health officials say they hope local residents will trust scientific information being released about the vaccine that shows it is safe and effective for those receiving it, with very few exceptions.