Five mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics scheduled this week in Lincoln County will be held after health organizations Monday received a shipment of the Moderna vaccine delayed in the Midwest because of storms there.
Winter storms last week delayed a scheduled shipment of 1,200 doses to Lincoln County from the FedEx shipping hub in Memphis, Tenn., forcing public health officials to cancel five clinics and reschedule them to this week. But those clinics starting were in jeopardy if the doses did not arrive Monday.
They did.
Oregon expected to get 67,000 vaccines overall last week that did not arrive. Overall, the federal government said distribution of 6 million doses were delayed by weather across the nation.
The county got 500 first doses and 700 second doses Monday. In addition, county health officials said it will call 240 people on its waiting list and have them get first doses this week.
While Lincoln County Public Health got last week’s shipment, it did not get another 1,200 doses it expected to arrive this week. If it had also received those vaccines Monday, the county was prepared to schedule first-doses clinics for people 70 years of age and older on Friday and Saturday.
Now, that will not happen until next week.
The clinics are scheduled Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Newport and Lincoln City. The three days of clinics will handle people scheduled to get vaccinated last week at clinics that were cancelled at the last minute when the first shipment did not arrive.
The health department was also plagued last week by changes to the software system used to schedule and send reminders to the more than 9,000 people on its waiting list. Because of technical issues, the department said the reminders were “confusing or incorrect.” It then had staff call or send correct notices to 1,500 people Thursday and Friday.
But the issue with a steady supply of vaccines is also forcing a change in how it schedules clinics, the health department announced. In January, the county had its weekly supply reduced to nothing at the last minute so doses could go to other counties that had fallen behind. Then weather stopped shipments last week.
“As a result of these events, the multi-agency coordinating group has made the decision to refrain from scheduling new clinics until we have vaccines on site,” LCPH said in a statement Friday. “The county will keep some vaccine in reserve each week so we can avoid rescheduling clinics if there are delays in delivery again.”
“Lincoln County was a leader in the state in getting vaccines to people as quickly as possible after receiving weekly allotments. This ambitious effort by our community partners was working, but also had some unforeseen repercussions … and then this week we had to postpone clinics because we did not have any extra vaccine on hand.”
Meanwhile, state officials said they remain committed to opening eligibility Monday to Oregonians age 70 to 74 and people 65 to 69 on March 1.
State officials said Friday they expect to receive 12,800 additional doses weekly that will be sent directly to pharmacies and 6,000 new doses weekly for federally qualified health centers, doubling those allotments from the federal government. All told, Oregon officials say they expect 107,000 doses a week.
This week’s schedule, officially
Here’s the schedule for this week’s clinics:
- Tuesday: Lincoln County Fairgrounds, Newport: First dose clinic rescheduled from last Tuesday;
- Tuesday: North Lincoln Fire & Rescue Taft Station: First dose clinic rescheduled from Thursday;
- Wednesday: North Lincoln Fire & Rescue Taft Station: First dose clinic rescheduled from Tuesday;
- Wednesday: Lincoln County Fairgrounds, Newport: Second dose clinic rescheduled from Thursday;
- Thursday: Lincoln County Fairgrounds, Newport: Second dose clinic rescheduled from Friday;
- Senior living and nursing homes: Second-doses for staff and residents of Sea Aire in Yachats and Lakeview and Oceanview in Lincoln City will be administered at the facility.
Lincoln County Public Health said there is no concern with the effectiveness of vaccines after a delay.
“They have been kept in cold storage at the production facility, and Moderna does not require ultra-cold storage,” the agency said in a news release. “Also, a week delay in the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will not reduce its effectiveness. The CDC guidance states the second dose should be given at least 28 days after the first dose, and there is no maximum interval between the first and second dose.”
Additional sites soon
While the county is waiting for vaccines to arrive, the coordinating group is working on setting up additional sites for clinics. The Siletz Community Health Clinic has agreed to help vaccinate people in the Siletz and Logsden area who are on the county waitlist. The county is finishing agreements for clinics in Waldport and Toledo.
In addition, home healthcare providers will be delivering vaccine directly to housebound people on the waitlist, LCPH said. The agency said it is also reaching out to pharmacies to help deliver vaccine if or when it gets additional shipments from the federal distribution program.
The county urged people with questions or who need help signing up for a vaccine appointment to contact the Lincoln County call center at 541-265-0621 or email LincolnCoCallCenter@co.lincoln.or.us.
The county has more than 10,000 people on its waiting list for vaccines. That includes anyone who has signed up, not just those people over 65 years of age, first-responders and educators. To sign up or get more information on the vaccine or clinics, go to the LCPH website.
As of last week, 4,184 Lincoln County residents had received first doses; 2,251 had received both doses.
The OHA distributes vaccines to counties based on population estimates from Portland State University. In Lincoln County, PSU estimates there are 2,580 people over 80 years of age, 2,336 are 75-79; 4,065 are 70-74, and 5,202 are 65-69 years of age.
The county estimates it has 28,000 inoculations to do out of a population of 48,000. Children under 18 cannot get a vaccine and health officials estimate 30 percent of adults will not want one.
The number of doses the county is scheduled to get does not include vaccines going directly to the Siletz tribe and the 100-doses-a-week that Safeway pharmacies are getting and possibly more coming to Rite-Aid and Fred Meyer pharmacies.
OTHER VACCINE CLINICS
People may also be eligible for other vaccine clinics outside of Lincoln County. Please note that you need to receive your 1st and 2nd dose from the same location or provider.
- State-wide Vaccine Information click here – to view eligibility requirements and see clinics available around the state. Scroll down.
- Linn & Benton County vaccination events through Samaritan Health Services click here (open to Lincoln County residents)
- Safeway Pharmacy – click here – Only open to eligible groups. Appointments may or may not be available locally at this time. May only be able to sign up for 1st dose at this time. Located in Lincoln City and Newport
- BiMart Pharmacy – click here – Vaccines coming soon. Located in Lincoln City
- Costco Pharmacy – click here – Appointments may or may not be available at this time. Located in Albany, Aloha, Bend, Central Point, Clackamas, Eugene, Hillsboro, Portland, Roseburg, Salem, Tigard, Warrenton, Wilsonville
