Indian Health Service ‘ahead of schedule’ with COVID-19 vaccination rollout
Friday, February 26, 2021
Indianz.Com
The federal agency that provides health care to 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives is outpacing many states in its efforts to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to those it serves, despite the challenges posed by reaching remote communities.
The Indian Health Service has distributed nearly 1.22 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to its 349 health care facilities located in 36 states across the country.
“This milestone was reached ahead of schedule despite severe weather making travel to health care facilities difficult across much of Indian Country and leading to shipping delays,” said Rear Admiral Michael Toedt, the chief medical officer at IHS. “Very shortly, we expect that everyone who needs a vaccine will be able to receive it.”
Micah Garen / Getty Images
Health officials are administering the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine in Indigenous communities across the U.S., one of the populations most vulnerable in the pandemic.
About 68,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses will initially be distributed among the population, the Indian Health Service said last week. Doses began to arrive this week and will first be given to the elderly and health care workers. We are so happy I can t even describe it, said Dr. Dakotah Lane, medical director of the Public Health Department and a Lummi Nation member, according to the Associated Press.
The coronavirus ravaged American Indian communities even after tribal governments implemented numerous control measures. Tribes ordered closures, roadblocks, universal testing and curfews but cases continued to rise.
Vaccines reach COVID-ravaged Indigenous communities journalstar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journalstar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is hosting two virtual Q&A sessions for the public to learn more about the coronavirus vaccines coming to the region. Both sessions will occur next week, on Monday, Dec. 21 and Tuesday, Dec. 22.
The Dec. 21 event is a virtual townhall with health officials from YKHC, National Institutes of Health, and Indian Health Service. It will stream on Zoom and Facebook from 1 to 2 p.m., and air live on KYUK 640 AM. You can submit your questions over Zoom or Facebook during the event. Find the registration link here.
Panelists for the Dec. 21 event:
2020/12/18 05:48 Medical worker Melissa Fitzgerald receives a COVID-19 vaccination Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, at the Chinook Clinic on the Lummi Reservation, near Bellin. Medical worker Melissa Fitzgerald receives a COVID-19 vaccination Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, at the Chinook Clinic on the Lummi Reservation, near Bellingham, Wash. The Native American tribe began rationing its first 300 doses of vaccine as it fights surging cases with a shelter-in-place order. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Medical worker Melissa Fitzgerald begins to weep in an emotional response after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination from registered nurse Alyssa Lane Thu. Medical worker Melissa Fitzgerald begins to weep in an emotional response after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination from registered nurse Alyssa Lane Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, on the Lummi Reservation, near Bellingham, Wash. Fitzgerald, a radiologic technician, has been treating coronavirus patien