ES Health District asks public for patience during vaccine roll out

January 20, 2021
 |
COVID-19 vaccine

As the residents of the Eastern Shore and the rest of the country anxiously await their opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccination, Eastern Shore Health District Chief Jon Richardson is asking for patience as they, along with Riverside and Eastern Shore Rural Health, work on its distribution.

With the vaccines produced in record time following President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, which removed several regulatory hurdles for their development, what is still a rather juvenile production process is being met with extraordinary demand. Northampton County Supervisor John Coker expressed frustration recently at a Board meeting over what he said was a failure to effectively communicate the plan for the vaccine’s roll out. State governments are in control of the process.

“We are really asking folks to be patient,” said Richardson. “We know that there’s a lot of folks that are anxious to get the vaccine, we certainly want to give it to them.”

This past week, there were 300,000 requests for vaccines, and only 106,000 were available. The Eastern Shore was one of the first Health Districts in the state to go from Phase 1A into Phase 1B of vaccine distribution and as other Health Districts make the switch it will only add to the pressure on the limited supply.

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Locally, the situation is much the same according to Richardson.

This week, the ES Health District, Riverside and Eastern Shore Rural Health received about 25% of what they requested.

“It’s one of those things we are going to work through,” he added. “We can’t really control how much vaccine is available.”

As for now, the Eastern Shore Health District is focusing on the people who are most likely to have a negative health outcome from COVID-19, followed by those with the highest exposure risk.

The vaccines are not mandatory.

Eastern Shore Rural Health and Riverside are informally in charge of handling the aged based distribution of the vaccine. Many individuals in 1B will get their vaccine from their employer.

Eastern Shore Rural Health is taking appointments, but again warns supply is limited and appointments could be as far out as May. Visit esrh.org/covid-19/ for more information.

Riverside will be reaching out through email, text and Riverside MyChart to eligible patients to schedule an appointment, as supply allows. If you do not have a MyChart account, please visit riversideonline.com/mychart to sign up today. Obtaining a MyChart account will facilitate scheduling a vaccine appointment once you become eligible to receive the vaccine. If you are not a Riverside Primary Care patient, your local health department will provide you with information on where and when you can receive your vaccination. Please call 1-877-275-8343 for more information.

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Richardson’s full interview which also covers several other COVID-19 related topics can be heard below:

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