By Steven Miszkiewicz MD
Medical Director
LCO Community Health Center
The LCO Community Health Center today (Monday, Dec. 14) received its Phase 1A allotment (65 doses) of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. This vaccine is the first of its kind and needs to be stored @ -60 to -80 degrees Celsius (-76F to -112F). We at LCOCH are fortunate to have this special equipment and we will be acting as the central hub for vaccine distribution for many nearby tribes.
We will begin giving vaccines on Thursday and Friday of this week. Phase 1A, as part of an early vaccine agreement, will be for Healthcare personnel and other allied personnel and first responders. These will then be repeated in 3 weeks. This was part of the prior arrangement in order to obtain the first doses.
Phase 1B will then proceed to the most vulnerable of the elder population. One might ask why this arrangement? It is felt that by vaccinating those that provide care first it will allow healthcare personnel to become immune and allow more providers to be more available in the future and cut back on healthcare shortages. This will hopefully guarantee that healthcare providers, first responders and critical staff will be around to vaccinate the rest of the population.
This is an opportunity to stop the pandemic and get our lives back to normal! I encourage and ask for your patience and cooperation, there is light at the end of the tunnel!