Hundreds of Montgomery County medical leaders talking about coronavirus vaccination campaigns | News

Norristown — In the midst of an ongoing public health crisis, health leaders in Montgomery County worked on a local COVID-19 vaccination rollout, coordinated by hundreds of people Wednesday night.

“We’re on track. We all want it to be faster and we have to be patient with people, but we’re there,” said Montgomery County Commissioner. The Commission’s chair, Dr. Valerie Arkuche, said.

Along with Arkoosh, Dr. Richard Lorraine, Medical Director of the Montgomery County Public Health Department, and Dr. Christopher Notte, Chief Medical Officer of Abington Landsdale Hospital, were panelists for the collaborative COVID-19 Vaccine Virtual City Hall. .. Questions about the overall process, timeline, vaccine itself.

Healthcare leaders have pointed out some obstacles to vaccination. The main factor is the lack of adequate vaccine supply to the state’s third most populous county.

“It’s been a very frustrating situation since the early days,” said Arkoosh. “We have never felt that we are vaccinated enough for a population of 830,000.”

The Montgomery County Vaccine Clinic currently serves Group 1A, which consists of people aged 65 and over and people aged 16 or 18-64 with specific medical conditions, depending on the vaccine given. With the start of registration on January 12, more than 185,000 eligible 1A residents have pre-registered for vaccination. Almost two months later, health officials almost finished their appointments from the first two days. Arkoosh emphasized that 30,000 people pre-registered on January 13th.

Arkoosh said Thursday at a meeting between state health officials and representatives from the Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties to obtain status reports on future shipments.

“They shared additional data with us and promised to give us a little more insight into how they are making these vaccine allocation decisions,” Arkoosh said at the City Hall on Wednesday. Told. “But on the surface, it doesn’t seem to be vaccinated as much as we need, at least compared to other counties that are much smaller than us.”

Panelists were also inquired about the vaccine itself at the one-hour city hall. Vaccines are available to three pharmaceutical companies: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson.

“I’m very encouraged that these vaccines are effective,” Notte said.

It is unclear how long the immunity will last, but according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “vaccines retained significant efficacy against mutants” detected in the United States originating internationally from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil “Yes,” added Lorraine. And prevention.

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are given twice, and Johnson & Johnson is a one-shot vaccine. Lorraine pointed out that some side effects included fever, chills, pain, and malaise, but emphasized that people should not be discouraged from being vaccinated.

“The vaccine does not inject the virus into our body,” Arkoosh said. “I’m injecting a series of instructions on how to make antibodies to fight the virus. When people respond to the vaccine, it’s just that their bodies are reading the instructions carefully and showing a really strong response to it. is.”

While the vaccination process continues, healthcare professionals emphasize patience and recommended people continue to take mitigation measures against the new coronavirus, such as washing hands, wearing masks, and keeping a social distance.

“So the main point I want to say is that everyone should want us to go back to where we were before,” Lorraine said. “We will be able to get together. We will be able to get together. We will be able to go to concerts. We will be able to meet our families. We will be able to travel and this. The vaccination program is a big step in the process. “

Arkoosh agreed. She acknowledged that “these are difficult decisions” and encouraged local residents to speak to their health care providers.

“As we continue to be vaccinated, the sooner more people are vaccinated, the sooner our children will return to school, our economy will recover and we will meet friends again. You can, “said Arkuche. “So learn about it and think about it really thoughtfully and carefully, because we all work together to keep our community safe.”

The county vaccine site has two satellite locations. One is on the Bluebell Campus of Montgomery County Community College and the other is on Norristown Area High School.

Lorraine talked about plans to add a third site to Willow Grove, but revealed that it relied on increasing vaccine supply.

He later sought options in the “western part of the county” and could promote a “very large distribution site” for the expected second phase of a vaccination program to support the general public. Suggested.

“Therefore, we want to make all these sites available, ready and staffed in case of increased vaccine flow,” said Lorraine.

Lorraine added that 7,000 healthcare workers who are not affiliated with a particular hospital or medical institution are still waiting for the vaccine.

When asked about the schedule for the next step, Lorraine answered carefully.

“So, all in all, this is purely a guest on my side. I hope I can complete the 1A category and move to 1B in about 2 months and 8 weeks,” he said. “It’s a bit optimistic, but I’m the optimistic type of person.”

According to a Montgomery County spokesman, 323 people were registered and 100 questions were submitted in front of the Virtual Town Hall. Nearly 200 people watched the event broadcast on Zoom, and 135 people watched the information session live on Facebook. In addition, 66 people chatted questions and comments at the Town Hall, moderated by Marianne Frey, Chief Executive Officer of the Maternity Care Coalition.