Jefferson County Public Health to receive more vaccine doses

Jefferson County Public Health Administrator Chris Estle said that all allocated doses of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19 had been administered or were scheduled to be administered by the end of last week for members of the Phase 1A priority group (such as health care workers).

Estle said the public health department is scheduled to receive another vaccine allocation this coming week, and that Phase 1B distribution will begin as soon as the Iowa Department of Public Health approves the plan. She said JCPH continues to work with all community partners on a daily basis to ensure vaccine distribution. It will continue to use the Moderna vaccine since it does not require ultra-cold storage.

'Once a multi-dose vial of Moderna vaccine is open, it must be administered within six hours,” Estle said. 'This is another layer of communication and coordination on the part of Jefferson County Public Health and individuals meeting priority group definition.”

Estle said multi-dose vials contain 10-11 doses of vaccine. The department administers all doses in the vial.

'We do not waste vaccine,” she said.

Estle said she wants to remind the public to follow best practices such as wearing a mask or face covering, staying home when even mildly ill, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow and practicing good hand hygiene.