BAY CITY, Mich. (WJRT) (12/13/2020)–Once the first FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine makes its way into Mid-Michigan, likely Monday morning, the race enters its second leg with logistical hurdles that will dictate the terms of how the process unfolds.
“It does require a tremendous amount of attention to detail and planning,” McLaren Bay Region Chief Medical Officer Norman Chapin, M.D. related.
From the time that first shipment enters the building to the moment the first shot goes into the first arm will be a carefully choreographed experience.
“Once we know we have the vaccine here, then we will meet with all of the supervisors and managers,” Chapin explained.
The second McLaren Bay Region’s first allotment of 975 doses arrives Monday, hospital staff will rush the vaccine into the special freezers required to store it at temperatures below -100 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Once you thaw out the vaccine, you have to keep it refrigerated and you have to use it within five days,” Chapin said. “Each vial contains five doses, so we want to make sure… there are five people in line… so we don’t have to waste any of the dosages.”
The first vials will be defrosted Tuesday morning and McLaren’s front line workers will be among the first to receive the injection. As ABC12 found during a Saturday phone interview with Memorial Healthcare in Owosso, the vaccine isn’t mandatory.
“What percentage of your staff responded, yes, we’d like the vaccine?”
“About 50-percent of the employees who filled out the survey indicated that they would receive it,” Chapin related.
Nationally, a recent Gallup survey revealed 37-percent of respondents said they wouldn’t be getting the vaccine.
“In some ways, it’s surprising,” Chapin began. “In other ways, it’s not…. the vaccine is, number one, extremely effective in two doses and number two, extremely safe.”
McLaren Bay Region will pass some of that inaugural shipment along to its affiliates including Caro and Bad Axe. Chapin aims to burn through every dose in the first five days.
“We know that we will probably learn some lessons from this first wave… discover things that can make the process run more and more smoothly,” Chapin explained.
The first wave or phase of vaccination according to MDHHS guidance will prioritize healthcare workers, followed by critical infrastructure and high-risk groups. Phase two entails a mass vaccination campaign for everyone else.
Copyright 2020 WJRT. All rights reserved.
