Sibley, Iowa — If you’ve been thinking about being vaccinated against COVID-19, a northwest Iowa health expert has some advice. Don’t wait.
Perhaps you are still apprehensive due to the short turnaround time for creating the vaccines. Maybe a friend or relative told you about a theory they found online, and it has you a little spooked. Maybe you just think that you’re pretty healthy and your risk is low to yourself or others, so you figure you’ll just wait a month or two until everyone else has had the vaccine.
Pam Juber is the Agency Director for Osceola Community Health Services. She says because of the way they need to handle the vaccine that they administer, you probably shouldn’t do that.
(as said) “We have been receiving the Moderna vaccine since the vaccination efforts began back in the end of December and the Moderna vaccine is packaged in a vial… a bottle if you will… that contains 10 doses of vaccine and so once we open that vial and take out the first dose that vial needs to be used within six hours. So we have to have people scheduled. We have to have ten people scheduled to receive a dose of vaccine within that six-hour period.”
She says it’s not like the flu shot where doses are packaged individually and you can call anytime and get your shot that day or the next day.
(as said) “It becomes very difficult for us to have individuals call us on any given day and request a dose of vaccine and maybe say, ‘Well I’d like to come in this afternoon…’ and the best we can do is take that person’s name and a phone number and when we have ten people on a list that would like the vaccine then we, of course, call them with a time and then we can give them that vaccine.”
In addition, Juber says the Moderna vaccine is frozen, so they have to thaw out the number of vials they’re going to need in advance.
So, Juber says the longer you decide to wait, the more uncertainty there will be as to when you can get the vaccine. Of course, they’ll do everything they can to try to give the vaccine to everyone who wants it, but the way it’s delivered causes some logistical issues.
(as said) “We’ve still got vaccine available and it is available to anyone now over 18 years of age. If you’re interested and you are 18 years of age and older just please call our office at 754-4611 and we will do our best to get you on a list for our next clinic.”
If for some reason you want to or need to wait until a certain date, they can work with you there as well, says Juber, but it would help to call right away even if it doesn’t work for you to get vaccinated right away, as it helps them plan.
If you live in another county, you can call your provider or the county health department in your county for more information or to make an appointment. Some pharmacies in the area are also administering the vaccine. Call them for more information if you’d like to go that route.
