County to receive first rounds of COVID vaccine

If there is any good news to report about the novel Coronavirus in Wichita County this week, it is that two local health entities are scheduled to receive the first rounds of the COVID-19 vaccine in the next two weeks, which will be distributed to healthcare workers.

Wichita County Public Health Director Lou Kreider said, “We’ve been notified by the (Texas) Department of State Health Services that two local entities will be receiving the vaccines for healthcare workers. They should be receiving that in the next week or so, depending on when and if Pfizer gets FDA approval. Once the approval is made, vaccines will be distributed.”

According to Kreidler, hospital staff will likely be first to receive the new vaccine by Pfizer, which is reported to be 95 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19. According to documents released Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer’s vaccine candidate offers some protection after the first dose, with close to full protection after the second dose.

An FDA advisory committee is set to review Pfizer’s data today (Dec. 10) and Moderna’s on December 17. According to the Texas Department of Health Services, the vaccines will not be interchangeable, and for two-dose vaccines a person must receive two doses of the same vaccine to ensure maximum effectiveness.

In addition, the TDHS report said the vaccine will be provided at no cost by the CDC and will be shipped directly to vaccine providers along with supplies needed to administer it, such as syringes and needles.

Priority groups will be first to receive the vaccine - healthcare workers, nursing home residents, first responders, followed by frontline workers, elderly and individuals with pre-existing conditions, then the general public.

“I’m hopeful that it will make a difference,” Kreidler said Tuesday. “As we can get more people vaccinated, it will have an impact on the case numbers.”

Kreidler warned, “It will probably be early spring before we have enough vaccine in our community to be able to do mass vaccination clinics. People are going to have be vigilant (in safety practices).”

NEW CASES

Wichita County has reported 844 new cases in the past week, as well as 890 recoveries.

The Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health Unit reported 18 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the past week bringing the total of deaths in the county to 155. Deaths were reported in the following age groups: Age 50-59 - Two; 60-69 - Six; 70-79 - Five; and 80-89 - Five.

As of Tuesday evening, there were 85 COVID patients in Wichita County hospitals, 17 of whom are listed in critical condition.

In addition, the county reported a 22 percent infection rate among those tested last week, which is almost half from the previous week.

The health department releases total number of active cases in each zip code in Wichita County every Friday. Last Friday, Iowa Park had a reported 206 active cases - 16 of which are inmates at at the Allred Unit - accounting for eight percent of active cases in the county.

Currently there are 2,575 active cases of COVID in Wichita County.

As of Tuesday evening, a total of 50,022 Wichita County residents had been tested for COVID-19, with 8,143 of those positive since March 18. Of those, 5,413 have recovered. The number of tests pending Tuesday evening was 1,348.

Iowa Park CISD

Iowa Park High School was notified of three students testing positive for COVID-19 since last Wednesday. Each of the cases were classified as low risk to the campus by the Wichita County Health Dept.

FREE TESTING CONTINUES

Due to the high percentage of cases locally, free drive-through testing is now being offered by WellHealth through the end of the year in the parking lot of the

MPEC Center in Wichita Falls. The hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The latest information on hospitalizations released by the WFWC Public Health District include:

Total Hospitalizations = 85

0-5

No hospitalizations

6-10

No hospitalizations

11-19

Stable - 1

20 - 29

Stable - 2

Critical - 1

30 - 39

No hospitalizations

40 - 49

Stable - 3

Critical - 1

50 - 59

Stable - 7

Critical - 3

60 - 69

Stable - 18

Critical - 5

70 - 79

Stable - 17

Critical - 6

80+

Stable - 20

Critical - 1

Wichita County New Covid Cases by Month (First case reported here March 18)

March 38

April 27

May 19

June 279

July 539

August 422

September 548

October 2,194

November 3,054

Dec. (thru Dec. 8) 1,023

Total reported 8,143

Statement from the Texas Department of Health Services

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution – Dec. 4, 2020

DSHS has submitted the first week’s allocation of COVID-19 vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first week’s allocation is 224,250 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be shipped to 109 hospitals in 34 counties as early as the week of Dec. 14, depending on when the vaccine is authorized for use in the United States.

As expected, the initial vaccine supply is limited, and the first week’s allocation is based on information submitted by vaccine providers when they enrolled, including the number of health care workers who can be quickly vaccinated and vaccine storage capacity at each site. The minimum order for the Pfizer vaccine is 975 doses. More vaccine will be available for more providers in the following weeks, including vaccine from Moderna once it is authorized.

The allocation strategy was recommended by the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel in line with its guiding principles and health care workers definition and approved by DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD. The panel put a priority on health care workers to protect those caring for COVID-19 patients and preserve the health care system’s ability to function.

Vaccine Allocation

DSHS has submitted the first version of the Texas COVID-19 Vaccination Plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The plan provides a framework for the allocation and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. The CDC has not yet approved the plan, and it will be updated based on CDC feedback and as additional information about vaccine development and availability is received.

“As we can get more people vaccinated, it will have an impact on the case numbers.”

– Lou Kreidler, County Health Director