×

1,376 Marshall County residents receive COVID vaccine this week

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO A nurse draws full a syringe with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The demand for the vaccine in Marshall County has increased since eligibility opened, but the supply remains steady at 500 doses per week.

According to information from the Iowa Department of Public Health COVID-19 website, 8,732 Marshall County residents have received COVID-19 vaccinations.

Last week — before vaccine eligibility was opened to everyone age 16 and older on Monday — 7,356 residents had been dosed.

Marshall County Public Health Nurse Pat Thompson said even though the eligibility has opened considerably, the vaccine shipments remain at 500 per week. Fortunately, she said people are understanding about supply not meeting demand.

“It has gone well as far as people calling everyday,” Thompson said.

Marissa Conrad, director of marketing and communications for Primary Health Care, said the amount of calls the facility has received has definitely increased – especially immediately after the eligibility was opened.

“We are asking patients not to call to schedule an appointment as the volume of calls quickly overwhelms our patient services team,” Conrad said.

Prior to the extension of the eligibility, Primary Health Care was proactively calling patients aged 65 and older to schedule a vaccination.

“We are continuing to call patients, triaging by those at the highest risk,” Conrad said. “We also have a text messaging platform and are using it to reach patients as well.”

Primary Health Care officials are asking established patients who would like to be added to a wait list to utilize this link: https://phciowa.org/covid-19/

Shelley Goecke, director of marketing and public relations for McFarland, hopes the supply will improve soon.

“The governor has shared that vaccine supply should increase over the next several weeks,” she said.

After Gov. Kim Reynolds opened the eligibility requirements, Goecke said McFarland changed the scheduling process. Effective this week, patients can view availability of appointment times online and schedule directly.

This information and the link to online McFarland scheduling is found at: https://www.mcfarlandclinic.com/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine

She said people interested in receiving COVID-19 vaccine at McFarland Clinic should note appointment times may be limited due to limited vaccine supply. They can check out the vaccine web page for new appointment times and consider scheduling with a pharmacy if possible.

“Iowans are encouraged to get vaccinated, whenever and wherever it is available,” Goecke said.

As many Marshall County residents are leaving the area to get a vaccine wherever they are able to, Thompson reminds them they have to return to the exact same location for the second dose.

COVID-19 cases in Marshall County number at 5,117 since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 4,611 have recovered and 74 deaths have occurred.

——

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today