As public health in Denton County prepares to begin offering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to residents who have already received their first, director Matt Richardson said logistical concerns could be on the horizon between provider-beneficiary confusion and residents. who simply do not return for the second shot.
Richardson addressed the vaccination effort and other coronavirus developments at the county level at the Denton County Commissioners’ Court meeting. He said that next week will be the first week DCPH can offer the second dose of Moderna vaccine, given about 28 days away, as it will be almost a month after the first clinic for emergency medical providers and workers in the field. home health. .
The department expects the delivery of the second dose to arrive this week, which Richardson said is identical to the first doses.
The booster vaccine is no different than the first dose – it’s exactly the same vaccine, in the same formulation, in the same volume, Richardson said. “You can’t mix and match. If you have Moderna or Pfizer, you have to get this [same producer] as a reminder. ”
Matt Richardson
But with the arrival of those two doses, Richardson said, some logistical obstacles could arise. First, he acknowledged that not everyone who received the first blow will return for a second – an issue he said suppliers in the county will have to address.
“I’m sure it won’t be 100% profitable, so we’ll solve this problem,” Richardson said. “It will undoubtedly be a national and national concern.”
For now, DCPH’s plan is to provide secondary doses only to residents to whom it has given the first, Richardson adding that the department does not recommend switching suppliers for the second blow. This recommendation is due to the state allocation system, which he explained will deliver special vaccines for use as secondary doses to providers based on their initial allocations, so that each has enough.
State officials, including Governor Greg Abbott himself, have previously addressed this concern after some providers gave up some of their initial allocations to have enough to vaccinate beneficiaries twice.
However, some of this confusion seems to remain among both beneficiaries and providers, as Precinct 4 Commissioner Dianne Edmondson said at the meeting that she received calls from residents whose initial providers told them that I’m “on my own” when it comes to the second dose. . In response, Richardson reiterated the state’s guidance to suppliers, adding that it would be difficult for DCPH to lift the weakness.
“Even if a pharmacy or doctor’s office says otherwise … the allowances will follow – if they gave 100 primary doses, they will receive a booster allowance of another 100 and they are expected to vaccinate the second dose for the same patients. Richardson said. “If we have extra doses, we could open them to the public. I’m not sure how to coordinate this. ”
DCPH spokeswoman Jennifer Rainey said in an email that the department has received the 6,000 doses allotted to it for the week and will have two drive-thru clinics at First Baptist Church in Lewisville on Wednesday and Friday. Each will have 3,000 vaccines, the same size as Thursday’s clinic at the CH Collins Athletic Complex in Denton, and will only be available by appointment via the DCPH online waiting list.
The clinic’s future plans, Rainey said, are still in the air as DCPH works through the details of offering both the first and second doses of the vaccine.