Vaccine on the horizon as state reports spike
Local health officials in Lee County are gearing up to receive and distribute the new COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks.
Lee Health said it expects a supply to vaccinate employees by the end of the month while the Department of Health Lee County said their first phase of vaccinations will prioritized for residents of long-term facilities, high-risk frontline healthcare workers and individuals ages 65 and older and/or those with significant comorbidities. While the state preps to acquire the vaccine, nothing is yet set in stone as to when — just that it will be soon.
“Lee Health is working with state and local health officials to bring a COVID-19 vaccine to our community as quickly as possible,” Lee Health spokesperson Jonathan Little told The Breeze. “The state has selected five hospitals in Florida to pilot the distribution of the vaccine. While Lee Health is not on this initial list, we expect our supply later this month. Because supply of the vaccine is limited, we will prioritize vaccination to employees who are at the highest risk of exposure and meet guidance criteria established by the Federal government, State of Florida and others. We do not yet have a timetable to vaccinate patients or the public and will share this information as soon as it is available from the State of Florida.”
The Florida Department of Health created a COVID-19 vaccination plan back in October that has been worked along the way to fit the changing news and best prepare officials for when the time comes.
“The Department of Health will approach COVID-19 vaccination efforts similarly to the integrated planning structure of the H1N1 pandemic, influenza vaccinations and Hepatitis A vaccination program,” FDOH Lee County spokesperson Tammy Yzaguirre said.
“The Department is in the process of enrolling other hospitals throughout the state. The vaccine will be shipped directly to the hospitals when available.”
The current “draft” version of Florida’s vaccine plan says DOH has been establishing bonds with local agencies and planning for vaccine administration within the specific areas of hospitals, long-term care facilities, first responders, critical infrastructure personnel, mass vaccination clinics and expanded traditional vaccine providers and retail providers.
Their “key tasks” are focused on addressing enrollment of new vaccine providers, expansion of programs for vaccines for children and adults, and the readiness of Florida’s Immunization Information System.
According to the DOH, Florida’s state-level COVID-19 Vaccination Planning Workgroup was assembled through coordination of staff from the Department’s Bureau of Preparedness and Response and the Immunization Section. Other staff were added to the group based on their subject matter expertise. Florida also has a CHD (County Health Department) COVID-19 Vaccination Workgroup comprised of CHD health officers, directors of nursing and preparedness staff from counties throughout the state, both urban and rural. Each CHD has an incident management team focused on local implementation of statewide vaccine strategies.
The vaccination plan states the DOH is engaging with a variety of internal and external partners regarding COVID-19 vaccine planning through both established public health partnerships and the State Emergency Operations Center.
Activities related to specific target groups include pharmacies, correctional and detention facilities, homeless shelters, community-based organizations, long-term care facilities, public safety agencies and hospitals.
DOH currently classifies this time as “Phase 1” meaning “potentially limited doses.” Phase 2 is defined as having enough doses to “likely” meet demand while Phase 3 sees “likely sufficient supply, slowing demand.”
Phase 1 is currently defined as vaccines going to hospitals, long-term care staff and residents and first responders and critical infrastructure.
As for Phase 2, the plan states, “As more vaccine becomes available, traditional VFC and VFA providers, including pediatricians, primary care providers and pharmacies will receive doses. It is likely that in this phase, the CHDs will open Public Mass Vaccination Clinics, and the Department and/or Florida’s Division of Emergency Management might open such clinics to ensure there is equitable distribution of the vaccine, in the same way COVID-19 testing was made available.
“Once the vaccine is widely available and demand for the vaccine stabilizes, the state will transition to providing the vaccine through routine health care delivery systems, including commercial pharmacies. CHDs will continue to offer vaccine clinics that are open to all members of the public as needed to meet vaccination goals.”
As far as the vaccine quantities being distributed throughout the process, DOH’s plan states, “Vaccine administration capacity is being estimated through targeted surveys sent out to key partners. The first survey was sent to hospitals and asks about their facility’s vaccine storage capacity (refrigerated, frozen and ultra-cold),as well as their capacity to vaccinate. Similar surveys are being developed for pharmacies and EMS providers and ask about storage and vaccination capacity. A survey for CHDs is under development to understand their capacities for storage and vaccination.”
The need for this particular vaccine to be stored and transported in colder-than-normal temperatures has also been addressed in the state’s plan. It states, “Adherence to cold chain requirements will be required of providers for refrigerated and frozen vaccines. In Phases 2 and 3, providers will be asked to use a continuous data vaccine temperature monitoring system and submit their temperature log data before their requests for vaccine will be approved.
“Vaccine storage and handling procedures will abide by guidance in the CDC VFC Storage and Handling Toolkit. Further guidance related to storage and handling of an ultra-cold chain vaccine will be necessary as it becomes available. Temperature reports from providers will be checked prior to order requests being approved or allocations sent. Providers must upload temperature reports weekly into Florida SHOTS (centralized online immunization information system) and immediately notify the VFC (vaccines for children) help desk of any excursions.”
By the Numbers
As of Thursday morning, there are 1,094,697 total cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Florida, an increase of 11,335 since FDOH’s last update Wednesday morning and the highest daily increase since July 25 when the state reported 12,000-plus new cases.
Test results reported to the Department of Health on Wednesday, Dec. 9, resulted in a 8.07 positivity rate. Positivity rates in new cases have topped 7% in 28 out of the last 32 daily reports. Percent positivity rates in new cases have been over 5% since Oct. 29.
The state saw its highest daily percentage of positive patients July 8, when 18.50 percent of tests reported were positive among 51,686 tests.
Of those testing positive, 57,468 Florida residents have been hospitalized at some point during their illness according to the state.
The death toll increased by 135 (eight occurring Wednesday) from Wednesday’s report, brining the total number of deaths, both resident and non-resident, to 19,851.
In Lee County, 33,431 individuals (+299) have tested positive as of Thursday’s update.
Positive COVID-19 cases in the county have ranged from infants to a 103-year-old. Lee County saw its first two cases on March 7, when a man and a woman, each 77, tested positive. They had traveled to the Dominican Republic.
There have been 610 deaths in Lee County, an increase of two from Wednesday’s report.
As of Thursday afternoon, Lee Health had 136 COVID-19 patients isolated in system inpatient hospitals, including 20 new admissions and 30 discharges since Wednesday.
A total of 3,639 patients who had tested positive have been discharged since the beginning of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Lee Health had a 25.9% positivity rate on COVID-19 tests processed through Lee Health Labs. This represents Lee Health results only, not Lee County as a whole. Hospital positivity rates tend to be higher as the tests are performed on patients seeking treatment for a health issue, not the general public that includes asymptomatic individuals.
Census as of Thursday afternoon was at 87 (+0)% of staffed operational bed capacity, with 10.7 (-1.1)% of those being COVID-19 patients. Staffed operational capacity reflects the number of beds for which the hospital has adequate staffing, not the total number of beds within Lee Health hospitals. Overall bed capacity fluctuates hour to hour as the system discharges patients throughout the day who are ready to go home.
As of Thursday, 78 (-2)% of ventilators and 17 (-6)% of ICU rooms are available for use across Lee Health facilities.
As of Thursday, there were 7 (+1) COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 20 (+0) in the intensive care unit.
COVID-19 is a highly contagious viral disease. For most individuals, symptoms are mild. For a minority, the disease becomes a type of viral pneumonia with severe complications. Especially at risk are those who are older, those with underlying health conditions and the immune-compromised.
Officials strongly urge all members of the public who are at risk to remain at home so as to limit exposure. All others are urged to observe social distancing and to wear a mask for all public interactions.
For more detail on Florida resident cases, visit the live DOH Dashboard.
To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, visit the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control, visit the CDC COVID-19 website. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, visit the travel advisory website.
— Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj