What distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine would look like for Humboldt County

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HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. (KIEM) — There’s been a lot of talk lately about a potential Coronavirus vaccine. In a recent interview with Deputy Health Officer Dr. Josh Ennis, we’re learning more about what the distribution of a vaccine would look like for Humboldt County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state have begun developing guidance for how a Covid-19 vaccine would be rolled out. Based on that guidance, Humboldt County is creating their own plan.

Phase 1 would target health care workers who have direct exposure to patients who are potentially infected or known to be infected. As far as prioritizing which healthcare facilities receive a vaccine first, it boils down to where there is the most need.

“If there were a prioritization that needed to happen, I don’t know that we’d frame it as a larger vs. smaller, we’d probably look to where the most burden of disease is at and try and make decisions based upon where the burden of disease is at,” according to Ennis.

The county has been planning for well over a month for how a vaccine would be distributed on the North Coast and continues to have ongoing discussions with health care partners. One concern that accompanies a potential vaccine, the low temperature needed for storage. Dr. Ennis reassures the community that Humboldt County does have ultra-low temperature storage capacity needed for a vaccine.

“It naturally introduces a lot of logistical challenges because that storage, that cold-chain management, certainly complicates things a lot. Once you thaw it out, it’s only good for a fairly limited amount of time. So there’s a lot of planning that has to go around this,” Ennis says.

Still no word on when exactly a Coronavirus vaccine will be available nationwide or here locally.