The rollout of the Phase 1B COVID-19 vaccinations begins this week in the Buckeye State. WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital is hosting a two-day vaccination clinic on Thursday and Friday at its 639 W. Main St. location.
The hospital received 200 doses and will be administering the Moderna vaccine to 200 aged 80-and-older.
Residents meeting the age restrictions are invited to call the hospital’s vaccine hotline at (740) 425-5255 to make an appointment.
“We set up a hotline for people to call, and they can also go to our website,” said Lindsay Dowdle, marketing specialist with WVU Medicine Barnesville. “There is also a link they can click with additional information regarding the clinic itself, along with a fact sheet for the Moderna vaccine.”
Once names are taken, the appointments will be handled via age according to Dowdle, starting with the oldest patients and working their way down.
Barnesville is offering the Moderna vaccine as the facility does not have the cold-storage capacity to house the Pfizer vaccine.
“We actually do not have the cold storage,” Dowdle said. “So, in order to administer the Pfizer vaccine, we would need to utilize the dry ice it comes packaged in, and then be limited with using that in a certain window of time.”
200 Doses for Now
Dowdle noted the facility was guaranteed 200 doses for this portion of the Phase 1B rollout. Other doses will be coming. But the Ohio Department of Health has not stated how many doses or when exactly the next shipment will be coming.
However, all receiving the first round of the vaccine this week are guaranteed their second dose in February.
After both doses, the Pfizer vaccine was found to be 95 percent effective in preventing COVID, and Moderna’s came in at 94.1 percent.
The FDA has found for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the second dosage greatly increases effectiveness rates, up to 95 and 94.1 percent, respectively.
“The second dose is a guaranteed that we will receive it,” Dowdle said. “It must be administered within that 28-day window, so the second dose will be given on February 18 and 19.
“As far as additional doses, we haven’t heard anything on when we’re receiving more or how much.”
Screening Process
When prospective patients arrive for their appointments, they are asked to enter the hospital via its main entrance. Patients also will need to bring a form of government identification and an insurance card.
Upon entering the hospital, patients will be taken to the clinic area that is administering the vaccine for a quick screening process.
Is there a possibility someone called to receive the vaccine won’t be able to after arrival?
“It depends on how they answer the specific screening questions,” Dowdle noted. “If they say yes to certain questions, we will send them directly back to their car and contact the administration team on how to handle the situation.”
