Immediate Release                                                                  nsacquitne@winneshiekhealth.org

February 24, 2021

Weekly update on Covid-19 planning:

Covid-19 vaccine is being delivered to Winneshiek County allowing vaccinations to resume.

Winneshiek County Public Health (WCPH)

• Continues to review vaccine eligibility for Phase 1B Tier 2 groups.
• Used 100% of doses available -Phase 1B, Tier 1 which included schools’ first dose completed.
• Only those residents who DO NOT have a primary physician or pharmacy in Winneshiek County should call WCPH at 563-382-4662.

Winneshiek Medical Center (WMC)

• Winneshiek Medical Center has administered all vaccine doses allocated to them within days of receiving the allocation.
• Since February 1, Winneshiek Medical Center has received 400 vaccine doses from Public Health and have administered 410 doses, due to occasional extra doses in some vials. All doses allocated have been used.
• Patients who receive family medicine care at Winneshiek Medical Center with a Mayo Clinic Health System physician or advanced practice provider (nurse practitioner or physician assistant) will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at WMC.
• Patients will be called by WMC staff when the vaccine is available for them, with instructions on the process and location of the vaccine.
• WMC will determine the order/timeline of vaccine distribution by following a standard COVID-19 risk score, based on information in the patient’s health record.

Gundersen Health System

• Has given all 200 doses plus due to extra doses in some vials that was allocated to them.
• Gundersen Health System will continue to contact their patients via phone as they work through their priority list.

Donlon Pharmacy

• Donlon Pharmacy will continue to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the Federal Retail Pharmacy program and our partnership with Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN).
• No COVID-19 vaccine was shipped last week due to weather conditions. We are hopeful to receive vaccines this week.
• As more doses arrive, Donlon’s will continue to randomly contact patients age 65 and older who have received a prescription from the pharmacy in the last year to schedule an appointment.
• Please be patient and do not contact the pharmacy to request an appointment.
• Donlon Pharmacy has administered 108 COVID-19 vaccines throughout the month of February.

Walmart Pharmacy

• Partnering with state and federal agencies as we await allocations.
• Building a new digital scheduling tool to make appointments easy.
• Stay up to date on how Walmart and Sam’s Club are supporting the vaccine rollout, visit corporate website www.walmart.com/covidvaccine.
• Currently does not have any vaccine available.

Thrifty White Pharmacy

• Thrifty White Pharmacy’s website www.thriftywhite.com has the option to get notified of any appointment openings by clicking on the Join Our Notification Waiting List button.
• The patient needs to complete the required information and selects a pharmacy location where they would like to receive their vaccination, and then accepts authorization for Thrifty White Pharmacy to contact them.
• If a couple has a joint email address, only one of them can sign up on the Notification Wait List. Once they receive notification of available appointments, they will be able to schedule appointments for both people.
• Currently does not have any vaccine available.

Immediate Release

February 19, 2021                                                                   nsacquitne@winneshiekhealth.org

Delayed shipment of Covid-19 vaccine:

Winneshiek County Public Health received notification that the Covid-19 vaccine shipment for this week was delayed due to extreme weather conditions and has not yet arrived in the state or to our county this week. This means that scheduled clinics have been postponed or delayed due to this situation within our county.

Persons affected will be notified by the community partners working with you. Do not call them.

Information will be released when the vaccine is received.

Immediate Release                                                                  nsacquitne@winneshiekhealth.org

February 17, 2021

Weekly Vaccine update:

The Winneshiek County Covid-19 planning committee continues to meet and review status within the county regarding vaccine and its distribution.

Each entity involved continues to follow the guidelines for distribution as directed by CDC and Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). Vaccine allocations in the state continued to be monitored and directed by each individual county.

During the month of February, the county only receives 300 doses of vaccine per week which have been shared with Winneshiek Medical Center, Gundersen Health System in Decorah, and Public Health.   80% of those 300 doses must be given in each week and we are pleased to report that this has been occurring. As shared by one of the partners this morning, “they have 1,000 patients that fall between the ages of 75-84 years old, so it is going to take time when you may only have 100 doses per week to work with.”

Winneshiek County Public Health (WCPH)

• Continues to focus on Phase 1B tiers with all county K-12 schools vaccinated this week with first doses.
• Will continue to only take names of individuals from Winneshiek County aged 65 and older without any primary doctor or pharmacy. Call 563-382-4662.

Winneshiek Medical Center (WMC)

• Continues to use priority system to determine patients and will call you when time occurs.
• WMC has given 100% of their allocation.
• Do not call, they will call you.

Gundersen Health Systems

• 100 doses received 2/9/21-Administered 65 doses on 2/12/21 and 64 doses on 2/15/21.
• 100 doses received on 2/12/21-Administering 30 doses on 2/18/21, 50 doses on 2/19/21 and 20 doses on 2/23/21 (Patients are already scheduled).
• Continues to follow a priority list.
• Do not call, they will call you.

Donlon Pharmacy

• Donlon Pharmacy has received COVID-19 vaccines through the Federal Retail Pharmacy program. In Iowa, Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN) was one pharmacy partner selected by the CDC. Donlon Pharmacy is a member of CPESN and received 100 doses Wednesday February 10th and all have been administered.
• This allocation is separate from Winneshiek County Public Health’s allocation. As more doses arrive, Donlon Pharmacy will continue to randomly contact patients age 65 and older who have received a prescription from the pharmacy in the last year to schedule an appointment.
• Please be patient and do not contact the pharmacy to request an appointment.

Thrifty White and Walmart pharmacy

• Currently have not received any allocations through either Public Health or the Federal Retail pharmacy program due to limited supply.
• Do not call either pharmacy.
• When vaccine is received, their online systems will be activated for persons to sign-up.
• Looking after March 1^st before vaccine available.

This remains a very slow process and all partners are asking for your patience and understanding as we move forward.

In the interim, remember to continue following your safe practices of wearing a mask, social distancing and staying home if you are ill. Thank you for your help and consideration in this matter.

Immediate Release

February 10, 2021

Vaccine distribution plans for Winneshiek County:

Members of the Winneshiek County Covid-19 planning committee met and would like to announce plans on vaccine distribution to those 65 years of age and older. These plans change frequently, and the plan depends heavily on the amount of vaccine received weekly.

Please be assured that plans are in place for vaccination locations and staffing of those locations. Work will continue with the implementation of those plans with our local health care providers. However, the details of those plans are being released when we know the timing, amount, and source of vaccines to provide the most vaccines safely and efficiently.

We ask for your patience and understanding as we work through this difficult time.

We are partnering with the Winneshiek Medical Center, Gundersen Decorah Clinic, Donlon Pharmacy & Toy Jungle, Thrifty White Pharmacy, and the Walmart Pharmacy to better serve Winneshiek County.  Each agency listed below has developed internal policies so please read each one carefully.

Winneshiek County Public Health (WCPH)

• WCPH will continue to focus on the Phase 1B tier groups that include Pre-K-12 school staffs, congregate settings and proceed within the tier groups.
• If you do not have a primary care provider in Winneshiek County and you are over the age of 65, you may contact the Winneshiek County Public Health department at 563-382-4662 and be placed on the public health waiting list.
• Withholding final details of plans allows for the entities to remain flexible in our response to the vaccines received. This protects the public from misinformation, outdated information or confusion when more vaccine becomes available.

Winneshiek Medical Center – Mayo Clinic Health System –Decorah, Ossian, Mabel

• Patients who receive family medicine care at Winneshiek Medical Center with a Mayo Clinic Health System physician or advanced practice provider (nurse practitioner or physician assistant) will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at WMC.
• Patients will be called by WMC staff when the vaccine is available for them, with instructions on the process and location of the vaccine. WMC will determine the order/timeline of vaccine distribution by following a standard COVID-19 risk score, based on information in the patient’s health record.

What patients can do:

• If you have a MyChart account, please verify your contact information is current in our system through MyChart: http://www.winmedical.org/mychart/ (Note: A MyChart account is not necessary to be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine at WMC.)

• Accept calls from Winneshiek Medical Center, as we may be calling to let you know the vaccine is available for you. (Note: Scam calls using WMC’s phone number do occur in our community. When calling to schedule the COVID-19 vaccine appointment, we will not ask for any financial information or your social security number. Do not give this information out over the phone, and if you are concerned, hang up and call us back at our main phone number 563-382-2911.)
• Please do not call WMC to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. We will call you when the vaccine is available for you.

Gundersen Health Systems

• Gundersen Decorah Clinic has received a small allocation of doses that they will be administering to patients that meet the phase 1B criteria this week and next week.
• Patients that meet the criteria and are patients of Gundersen Clinic, will be contacted by the clinic to schedule.
• It is important and very helpful to not contact Gundersen clinic to be added to a list.
• We have a list of patients who meet the criteria, who we will be contacting. We are starting with our higher-risk patients over 85 years old, and then each week we will schedule additional patients as we move down the list, based on the amount of vaccine doses that we receive.
• Please be patient as we are getting very limited doses and are trying to get them administered within a week of receiving them. You can find the latest vaccine information at org, including how you can prepare while you wait for your turn to schedule a vaccine appointment.

Walmart Pharmacy

• Partnering with state and federal agencies as we await allocations

• Building a new digital scheduling tool to make appointments easy
• Stay up to date on how Walmart and Sam’s Club are supporting the vaccine rollout, visit corporate.Walmart.com/covid-vaccine

Donlon Pharmacy

• Donlon Pharmacy will begin reaching out to patients who are over the age of 65 and who have received a prescription at our pharmacy in the last year to schedule an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Please do not contact the pharmacy to request an appointment.

Thrifty White Pharmacy

• Thrifty White Pharmacy will be scheduling appointments online for the COVID-19 vaccine for eligible persons per CDC guidelines. We will follow state and federal guidelines on priority groups as we receive vaccine. Vaccine will be limited.
• Appointments will open as vaccine is allocated to the pharmacy. Walk-in appointments are not allowed at this time.
• All appointments must be scheduled at thriftywhite.com.
• Appointments cannot be booked over the phone. Available dates and times will display for you to select online.

This will be a slow process; your patience and understanding are appreciated by all of the above partners.

Winneshiek County COVID-19

Current positive cases – 1,698

Total recovered cases – 1,452

Test Iowa numbers

2,028,556 total people tested in the state of Iowa

12,178 total people tested in Winneshiek County

Winneshiek County Public Health is not accepting names for a Covid-19 vaccination list at this time.  Please be patient.

Phase 1a

Long Term Care Centers

1. 1. Residents
   2. Staff – Direct care

Healthcare workers

1. 1. Direct care

Phase 1b

Persons 65+ are eligible in any Phase 1b Tier (dependent on prioritization and/or vaccine allocation)

Tier 1

1. 1. 1^st Responders (FD, LE, and child welfare social workers)
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel
   2. PK-12 school staff, early childhood education, and childcare workers
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel

Tier 2

1. 1. Food, Ag, distribution & manufacturing workers who work or live in congregate settings that do not allow for social distancing
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel
   2. Individuals with disabilities living in home settings and their direct care staff
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel

Tier 3

1. 1. Staff of and individuals in congregate settings (does not include college dormitories)
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel
   2. Government officials, to ensure continuity of government including staff, engaged in state business at the Iowa Capitol during the legislative session
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel

Tier 4

1. 1. Inspectors responsible for hospital, long-term care, and child safety
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel

Tier 5

1. 1. Correctional facility staff and individuals incarcerated
      1. Prioritization in effect by IDPH
      2. Personnel