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Vaccine distribution ramps up in Jackson BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER s the afternoon sun sank in the wintry sky Jan. 15, a line of first responders stretched 50-deep outside the front door of the Cullowhee Recreation Center, each person waiting their turn to participate in the first mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic to take place in Jackson County. “It’s just a weight lifted now,” said Sergeant Detective Brittany Thompson of the Western Carolina University Police Department, as she left the clinic around 5 p.m. She’d arrived 10 minutes before the fourhour clinic began at 4 p.m. After making her way through the line, she entered the rec center, received her dose — it didn’t hurt, she said — and sat in one of the spaced-out chairs in the gym where vaccine recipients were asked to wait for 15 minutes, allowing health department staff to watch for any adverse reactions. Thompson, 31, said she was excited for the opportunity to get vaccinated but that it was a more complicated decision for her than for most. She’s 18 weeks pregnant, and while experts believe that mRNA vaccines like the Moderna dose Thompson received are unlikely to pose a risk to either the mother or the baby, actual data on the topic are extremely limited at this point. After talking with her doctors and her husband, Thompson ultimately decided to get the shot. “We’re very pro-vaccine. We missed our families,” said Thompson, whose father is currently undergoing chemotherapy. “We haven’t been able to see them a lot, so we’re just ready for stuff to get back to normal.” Brad Rice, a volunteer with the CashierGlenville Fire Department, said family concerns also drove his decision to get the vaccine. “I was a little skeptical,” he admitted. “My wife’s a nurse and she made me feel a little better about it, explaining it to me. I mean, without knowing anything, new stuff you kind of push away, but my father-in-law lives with me and he’s 86. That’s the main reason. If it wasn’t for him living there I probably wouldn’t get it for a little while and let all these older people get it first, but I’m just trying to protect him.” As it stands, Rice, 41, arrived early and was the 15th person to get vaccinated last Friday. Meanwhile, the long line of people waiting their turn moved slowly closer to the door. Lieutenant John Beegle of the Jackson County Sheriff ’s Department and Stephanie Dinn of Jackson County 911 both said they had no second thoughts about getting their dose. “It’s available. I’m going to get it,” said Dinn. “I was waiting for it.”
Smoky Mountain News
January 20-26, 2021
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SCRAMBLE TO VACCINATE In total, the health department adminis10 tered 200 first doses of the Moderna vaccine
during last week’s clinic, which served as a rough run of sorts for staff to get their process down for future mass vaccination clinics. As vaccine supply allows, the county will offer drive-thru vaccination clinics 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Jackson County Department on Aging — at the first drive-thru clinic Jan. 19, 300 people were scheduled to receive a shot. Pre-registration for the clinics is required by calling 828.631.HELP or completing the form at forms.gle/NtPSjjSJSVQMPTD26. To date, the health department has received 800 vaccine doses from the state, said Director Shelley Carraway, and it has administered 820 doses — Harris Regional Hospital gave the department some of its
Vaccination in WNC First dose
Percent population Haywood .............2,302 ...................3.7 Jackson ...............923.....................2.1 Swain ...................423.....................3.0 Macon...................722.....................2.0 Statewide..........344,456.................3.3
*Dose numbers from NCDHHS as of noon Jan. 18. Population figures based on 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimates. allotment in order to cover the shortfall. The health department and the hospital will soon get additional help with vaccine distribution, as Blue Ridge Community Health Care and Western Carolina University recently became providers. Additionally, the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation is receiving vaccine doses from Mission Health and is planning its own clinics on the plateau. The first one will take place 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, and registration information is available at www.highlandscashiershealthfoundation.org. Currently, Jackson County is receiving Moderna vaccines only, which require a second shot 28 days after the first. The county is working on planning events to handle second doses, said Carraway, and expects to receive its first shipment of second doses soon. An exciting note is that WCU will be receiving its own separate vaccine allocation from the state, and the University of North Carolina System is providing it with an ultra-cold freezer capable of handling the Pfizer vaccine — its storage requirements have been a challenge for rural communities. Last week, Jackson County changed its vaccine distribution plan to align with revisions to state guidelines. The population is now divided into five priority groups for vaccination, with the first two currently eligible for vaccination. Those groups include health-
First responders line up outside the Cullowhee Recreation Center Jan. 15 (top) to receive their first COVID-19 vaccination shot. Holly Kays photo Clinic staff monitor patients for 15 minutes after they receive the shot (above) to watch for adverse reactions. Melissa McKnight/JCDPH photo care workers with in-person patient contact, staff and residents at long-term care facilities and anyone 65 or older. Next up will be frontline essential workers, then adults at high risk for exposure and increased risk of illness and then finally anyone else who has not yet received a vaccine. While there is no specific timeline for moving from phase to phase, Carraway said that she doesn’t expect to move on to Group 3 until early-to-mid March. There is no way to predict how many doses Jackson County will receive in any given week, but the department has been averaging 200 per week. However, changes to state rules mean that communities that are more efficient in getting vaccines administered are rewarded with increased doses, so Carraway hopes to see that allocation increase as drive-thru clinics ramp up. According to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, in Jackson County 923 people had received the first dose
in the two-dose vaccine regimen as of noon Jan. 18, with 53 people in the county having taken both doses. That is a significant increase from the report for noon Jan. 13, when 559 people had received the first dose and 46 people had completed the vaccine course. However, it’s still a drop in the bucket compared to the total population — only 2.1 percent of the county’s estimated 43,938 residents has received at least one shot. It’s a similar story in nearby counties. In Macon County, 722 people have received a first dose and 72 people have completed the course, while in Swain County only 423 people had received a first dose with four people completing the course. Haywood County’s numbers are higher, with 2,302 people receiving the first dose and 511 people completing the course as of Jan. 18. Statewide, 344,456 people have received a first dose and 60,073 people have completed the vaccine series.
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