COVID vaccine makes it to Shoshone

KELLOGG — It's finally here.

As of last Friday, health care workers at Shoshone Medical Center and Heritage Health in Kellogg are the first people in Shoshone County to have access to the newly FDA approved COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced in a Dec. 4 COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting that this first round of vaccine distribution (Phase 1a) would consist of 13,650 doses being distributed throughout the state. Of those 13,650 total doses, the Panhandle Health District (which includes the counties of Kootenai, Bonner, Boundary, Shoshone and Benewah) received 1,950 (or 14.96%) of them.

From there, 180 doses have been allocated to Heritage Health (to be used across their entire organization) and 40 have been sent to SMC.

According to Multimedia Specialist Marc Stewart, Heritage began vaccinating their health care providers and staff against COVID last Friday. Among the 293 people they employ, including 83 providers across 12 locations, 11 staff members at their Kellogg location have already received the vaccine.

Dr. Peter Purrington, chief clinical officer for Heritage Health, was the first person within the organization to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

“It’s safe and effective,” Purrington said. “The vaccine will reduce the number of people who die or have a serious illness from COVID-19.”

Heritage Health will administer the two-shot vaccine to its health care workers and long-term care residents over the next 30 days. The goal is to have all medical and dental personnel vaccinated by the end of January.

At SMC, Business Development Coordinator Shayleen Jerome said that the first members of the staff will begin getting the vaccine this afternoon. The initial 40 staff members to receive the vaccine are selected based on their responsibilities and level of exposure — such as emergency room and front office personnel that have a high chance of coming into contact with an infected patient.

"We received our (dose) allotment through the Panhandle Health District and they've been a great partner," said SMC CEO Paul Lewis. "They've been very open on when it's coming, so it's worked out well and we're excited to get started."

According to PHD, all versions of the currently approved vaccines require two doses — the second to be administered roughly 20 days after the first (depending on the brand).

SMC Dr. David Lawhorn explains that unlike vaccines in the past that have utilized a dead or weakened form of a virus, these COVID-19 vaccines include only specific proteins from the virus. Because of this, the vaccine is unable to cause COVID-19 in a recipient.

"The two-phase delivery has amazing efficacy," he said. "We're seeing 90% efficacy with these, compared to others like for the flu, and that's crazy good. With the flu vaccine, if we hit 75% efficacy, that's considered really good. Compared to any other vaccine that I am aware of, this one is incredibly effective."

In this current Phase 1a, health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities and those working in long-term care facilities are the first slated to have access to the vaccine. This will then be followed by Phase 1b, in which essential workers — such as first responders, educators, utility workers and food and agriculture workers — are allowed access. The final Phase 1c opens the vaccine up to adults with high-risk medical conditions and people over the age of 65.

Both local health care providers are in the process of determining the next steps in vaccine distribution when it does become available for the general public (following the completion of Phase 1).

“It’s important for the public to know that there are still a lot of unknowns regarding the supply and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines,” said Lora Whalen, district director for PHD. “We will continue to communicate with our community as we learn more. We know many of you are eager to receive the vaccine and we want to make sure you have accurate and timely information.”

Based on available data, COVID-19 vaccination is expected to elicit general post-vaccination symptoms, such as fever, headache and body aches. These symptoms are more common after the second dose of the vaccine and some won’t experience any noticeable side effects.

"The side effects are a sign that your body’s immune system is responding and building protection," PHD states. "It takes around two weeks for an individual to build immunity after receiving a vaccine."

The CDC and FDA encourage the public to report possible side effects (called adverse events) to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). This national system collects this data to look for adverse events that are unexpected, appear to happen more often than expected, or have unusual patterns of occurrence.

Health care providers will be required to report certain adverse events following vaccination to VAERS. Health care providers also have to adhere to any revised safety reporting requirements according to FDA’s conditions of authorized use throughout the duration of any Emergency Use Authorization; these requirements would be posted on FDA’s website.

CDC is also implementing a new smartphone-based tool called v-safe to check-in on people’s health after they receive a COVID-19 vaccine. When you receive your vaccine, you should also receive a v-safe information sheet telling you how to enroll in v-safe. If you enroll, you will receive regular text messages directing you to surveys where you can report any problems or adverse reactions you have after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

PHD will continue to update the public as more information becomes available.

If you have questions about COVID-19 in our area, call PHD’s COVID-19 hotline Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 877-415-5225.