Washington County looks to vaccine event for homeless in May April 27 2021
County officials say logistical problems and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause have hindered vaccinations for homeless.
A lack of adequate supply of COVID-19 vaccines and the pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have stifled efforts to vaccinate homeless people in Washington County, officials say.
It has been nearly a month since Oregon s vaccine eligibility guidelines expanded to include homeless people, specifically. Some were eligible previously due to having a medical condition or disability.
A small number of homeless Washington County residents have already received doses either through addiction recovery services or transitional housing programs, said Tyler Slattery, a senior program coordinator with the county s COVID-19 response team.
COVID-19 case numbers as of April 27, courtesy of Washington County Public Health.
COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available from Washington County Public Health tomorrow, as they noted a dip in demand at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.
County Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski informed the supervisors that so far the county has administered 15,060 vaccines and has 6,661 dose series completed. Statewide 30.2% of Iowans are fully vaccinated. Pettit-Majewski noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have lifted the pause on administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six cases of a severe blood clot were reported out of nearly 7 million doses that have been administered in the U.S.
Latinos for Washington, Inc. and Washington County Public Health are holding a bilingual COVID-19 vaccine clinic for those 18 years and older tomorrow.
The clinic will last from 10 a.m.-noon at the public health office located on the fifth floor of the Federation Bank building in Washington, and Latinos for Washington Secretary and county public Health i-Smile Dental Coordinator Martha Hernandez says they have around 50 people registered so far, “We wanted to get this clinic going just because there was a lot of barriers for the Hispanic community or Latino community in getting vaccinated. There was still a lot of myths and other obstacles such as information about the COVID vaccine not being in Spanish, so we kind of just decided to work together with Washington County Public Health and organize this clinic.”
Washington County has four residents hospitalized due to COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, as public health informed the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
County Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski explained during the board’s meeting that the state COVID-19 dashboard incorrectly shows Parkview Manor assisted living facility in Wellman currently in an outbreak. Pettit-Majewski states that they are not in an outbreak and that the error was due to a web coding issue, which they are working with the Iowa Department of Public Health to correct.
She comments on the state’s announcement of all vaccine providers being advised to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, due to six U.S. cases of a rare and severe blood clot among 6.8 million doses that have been administered, “We did get 400 doses of Johnson & Johnson as a county, we gave some to one of our partners Rx for Prevention, he is holding his remaining doses. The hospital gave their last doses of J&