February 19, 2021

The Ottawa County Department of Public Health (OCDPH) sent this weekly vaccine update to those who signed up for vaccine notifications or COVID-19 updates. If you already received your vaccine and do not want to be on the notification list, please unsubscribe here. If you no longer want to receive COVID-19 updates, please unsubscribe at the bottom of this email.

Information While Waiting for the Vaccine

This week's vaccine video update on Facebook and YouTube. 
Includes an interview with special guests from Clinic Health Services who share how their roles shifted throughout the pandemic response and what it's like at the off-site vaccination clinics The interview starts here. 

Every Wednesday at noon we will provide the latest Ottawa County vaccine and response updates at Facebook.com/miOttawaHealth and YouTube.com/miOttawa. Next week includes special guests who will talk about the health department's diversity, equity and inclusion work to address health inequities during the COVID-19 response - disparities in case rates, access to testing and vaccine distribution.

Recent Questions & Answers

If I sign up for the county vaccine notification survey multiple times, does it increase my chances of getting an appointment? 

No - Please only sign up one time per individual. Signing up through the Ottawa County Department of Public Health's (OCDPH) vaccine survey places you in line to receive a future invite to schedule an appointment based on the latest date you completed the survey. If you take the survey in the future, it will update your sign-up date and will move you down the contact list. It is to your advantage to only complete this process once. 

Do the COVID-19 vaccines protect against the COVID-19 variants?

Early research suggests that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can protect against the COVID-19 variants identified in the U.K. and South Africa. Vaccine manufacturers are also looking into creating booster shots to improve protection against variants.
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Why are some pharmacies offering the vaccine?

Through the CDC Pharmacy Partnership Program, CVS and Walgreen pharmacies have been offering on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents and staff members of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Recently, Meijer and Rite Aid pharmacies began administering vaccines at their stores to people 65 years of age and older. These locations have been working directly with federal and state partners to receive their vaccine allocations. Vaccine clinics are not open to walk-ins. Participants must be registered to schedule a vaccine appointment.

These partnerships help public health expand its outreach efforts, provide more convenience for people to be vaccinated and work towards our common goal of protecting lives.  

Meijer vaccine registration or text COVID to 75049
Rite Aid eligibility survey 
VaccinateWestMi.com/register for other agencies

Will the health department open up other vaccination sites? 

The majority of OCDPH's vaccines have been administered at the GVSU Meijer Holland Campus since December 18, 2020, to first responders, health care workers and people aged 65 years and older. Additional partnerships with Evergreen Commons, local nonprofit agencies, businesses and school districts have enabled the department to begin setting up additional clinics at other locations to better reach those who are eligible for the vaccine; people aged 65 years and older (particularly, older adults who have limited or no internet access, black and brown communities and non-English speaking) and education staff.

Starting this week, the OCDPH began vaccinating eligible people at the Holland Civic Center to facilitate a higher volume of people in anticipation of receiving more vaccines from the state. This clinic is a collaborative effort between the health department, Holland Hospital and the City of Holland. Clinics are by appointment only and no walk-ins are allowed. People who've signed up on the county's vaccine notification list, and are eligible, are selected in the order received and sent an invitation to schedule an appointment. The number of appointments that become available each week is dependent on how many vaccines are received from the state.

The health department is continuing to explore other locations throughout the county, both small and large, to get the vaccine out into the community. Much of this is accomplished by working with hospital and pharmacy partners within the county.

More Resources

 VaccinateWestMi.com FAQs I CDC COVID-19 FAQs Flyer I CDC FAQ Website

COVID-19 Vaccinations in Ottawa County

This week OCDPH received 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine for first doses with an additional 1,600 for second doses.

Total Ottawa County:

• 35,400 first and second COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed to Ottawa County health care systems and the health department by MDHHS as of 2/14/21, according to the state's vaccine map data. Local data show 36,200 total doses received as of 2/18/2021.
  
  
• 54,611 first and second doses have been administered to Ottawa County residents as of 2/17/21.

The number of doses administered is higher than the number of doses received because vaccinators have been able to consistently get at least six doses from the five dose vials. Additionally, doses reported are based on where the person lives. If an Ottawa County resident receives their vaccine from a location outside of the county, it is still counted as Ottawa County.

More Vaccine Data from MDHHS here.

Lupe comparte por qué se vacunó

Ver y compartir en las redes sociales

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Charles shares why he got vaccinated

Watch and Share on Social Media

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Find the latest Ottawa County COVID-19 response updates at www.miOttawa.org/covid19

Ottawa County COVID-19 Data Hub

Please check out other partner organizations also offering the COVID-19 vaccine at www.VaccinateWestMi.com/register. For locations statewide, please call the Michigan COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 or visit Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine.

Exploring Vaccine Skepticism in the Black Community

Racial Disparities in Health Care—Digging Deeper

Expert panelists include:

• Dr. Gerald Griffin - Neuroscientist and Virologist Professor at Hope College
• Altheia Johnson, RNP, MSN - Recently retired with more than twenty-five years of experience providing acute care, prenatal and ob-gyn care for diverse populations at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles
• Peter Knoester, MD - Board-certified anesthesiologist with Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and formerly with Holland Hospital
• Derick N. Chia, MPH -  Epidemiologist with the Ottawa County Department of Public Health

February 21 and March 21 (both Sundays) from 4 pm - 5:30 pm

Learn more at HarmonyAlliance.org

COVID-19 Vaccinations in Michigan

Michigan received 2,301,795 doses with 1,740,608 of those administered statewide as of 2/17/21. 

More Vaccine Data from MDHHS here.

Winter storms causing delays in vaccine shipments

LANSING, MICH. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has been notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that due to ongoing winter storm conditions in Kentucky and Tennessee, vaccine shipments this week continue to be delayed.

“We ask that Michiganders confirm their appointments prior to traveling and to have patience as providers seek to reschedule any appointments,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “Unfortunately, distribution of the vaccine in this circumstance is simply out of our control. Vaccine providers across the state are working hard to get 70% of Michiganders age 16 and older vaccinated with the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible.”

Late yesterday, CDC provided an update about COVID-19 vaccine shipments in light of the ongoing winter storm conditions this week. This challenge is affecting vaccine shipments across the country.

• Pfizer vaccine:  Pfizer vaccines were not shipped out on Monday, Feb. 15 due to weather conditions. A limited number of Pfizer vaccine shipments are being processed this week.
• Moderna vaccine:  Severe weather impacted the McKesson distribution center in Memphis. Every aspect of distribution was impacted including air and ground transport, as well as work force, including personnel for packing and sorting vaccine. Moderna vaccines were not shipped on Monday, Feb. 15, Tuesday, Feb. 16 or Wednesday, Feb. 17 due to adverse weather conditions. CDC is working with McKesson and their shipping partners to resume operations as soon as the weather abates. They anticipate a significant back log of orders for distribution once operations resume and every effort will be made to catch up as soon as possible while safely delivering the vaccines.
• Last week, a number of Moderna vaccine shipments were pulled back to the McKesson depots because they were unable to be delivered due to weather conditions.  A small number of these shipments were repacked and sent out on Sunday for delivery on Monday, Feb. 15.  For the remaining shipments, McKesson will be rescheduling vaccine deliveries once weather conditions allow shipments to resume.

At this time, MDHHS does not know if McKesson will ship any Moderna orders today for delivery tomorrow. The department will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information is learned.                                                                          

Hear more about the vaccine shipment delays from the White House COVID-19 Response Team

Click on the image to watch the video.

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine.

Update on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Michigan’s Response    

State task force urges new state policies to tackle root causes of poverty, bring opportunity to more Michiganders 

February 17, 2021 - Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun provided an update regarding COVID-19 and the continued efforts to slow the spread of the virus and ramp up vaccinations throughout the state. During the press conference, the governor announced the new report released by the Michigan Poverty Task Force that outlines bold new initiatives, expanded state policies and a significant financial investment.  

 The governor continued to urge bipartisanship to pass her MI COVID Recovery plan and her FY2022 budget recommendation so the state can ramp-up vaccination efforts and come out of the pandemic and economic downturn stronger than ever before. 

 She was joined by Kim Trent Deputy Director of Prosperity for Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity Department or LEO, Mike Larson, President of the Michigan Association of United Ways, and Dr. Dr. Farhan Bhatti.  

WATCH  I  Presentation Slides I  Previous Briefings

MDHHS Resources

Vaccine Information I Strategy I Distribution Guidance I MI Vaccine Locations

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

What are the state's goals for vaccination?

• 70% of Michiganders age 16 and up are vaccinated as soon as possible
• 90% of doses received are administered within 7 days of arrival
• 95% of people get their second dose of vaccine within the expected time frame
• No disparity in vaccination rates across racial and ethnic groups or by social vulnerability index
• No Michigander should have to drive more than 20 minutes to reach a vaccination site

LEARN MORE Michigan Vaccine Strategy

Click to enlarge the MDHHS vaccine distribution timeline.

PROTECTED BY THE VACCINE?

We must remain vigilant and continue to use the prevention strategies that have helped us slow the spread of COVID-19 pre-vaccine. Even if you’ve already been vaccinated, continue to help protect your community and mask up, Michigan. Wearing a mask, social distancing, and washing your hands, even after receiving the vaccine, will offer the most protection for yourself and those around you as we work towards community immunity. LEARN MORE

COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States

Click to view more data.

COVID-19 vaccination is an important tool to help stop the pandemic

• Wearing masks and physical distancing help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed.
  
  
• The combination of getting vaccinated and following CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19.
  
  
• Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the disease in communities, CDC will continue to update the recommendations to protect communities using the latest science.

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