Calhoun County Vaccinations Start in Schools This Week

Calhoun County is ready to begin vaccinations for school personnel this week, and they expect to receive Moderna vaccine, to supplement the Pfizer vaccine that has been used up until now.

Calhoun County’s Health Officer Eric Pessell was on the 95.3 WBCK Morning Show with Tim Collins to give an update on COVID-19.

“We had a roll-thru/drive-thru event on Saturday down at Tekonsha and we rolled 417 people through there,” said Pessell. He says seniors, educators, and daycares that are top of the list. “Right now, our seniors 65 and older are getting vaccinated and we're going to be starting our schools this week. School staff, teachers, coaches, folks that are around the kids every day will be getting vaccinated. We're almost done with our 1-A groups. There are a few left that chose to wait a couple of weeks and we're running those through or they're being scheduled right now.”

A WBCK listener, Mary from Ceresco, use the WBCK AppChat to send in a question for Pessell:

“Are all COVID ‘shots in the arm’ in Calhoun County being given by appointment through the health department? And would that include hospitals, eventually doctor offices, and drug stores? In other words are there other options in addition to the health department for obtaining the shot?

Pessell said, “The answer Mary is yes. If you've gone to any of the hospitals you can reach out to them. They have a way through their ‘My Chart’ system, or they usually have a phone number you can call. Right now, they have limited clinics, but they've been able to get some seniors in there.”

Pessell says that in the future, pharmacies also will be included and will be able to give vaccines as well. He says we're not there yet just because we don't have the supply. Pessell says that he’s hoping pharmacies will be a good backup for when the Health Department is maxed out.

No matter where you go for a vaccination Pessell says you'd still have to follow the procedure of calling those places and getting on a list and waiting for a call. “We try to coordinate with them each of those places. I meet with them weekly. We discuss what they're planning on doing, but each one of those entities has their own system.”

Pessell says the vaccine supply is looking better this week. “We saw our first increase, having a few more doses coming our way, and I think I can expect that for maybe the next three to four weeks. However, we are going to start to see a split between both types of vaccine. Up until now at the health department, we've been getting 100% Pfizer, but for the state to be able to give us our allocation, we're going to need to get some Moderna vaccine as well. So we are getting more, which is good. That's not enough yet but we're getting some more and we'll be providing both Pfizer and Moderna as we move forward soon.”

Pessell says Calhoun County is doing much better in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations. “It bounces between 12 and 15 beds, and I want to see that continue to go down, but I think we're in a lot better shape now than we were two months ago.”

Listen for more info this week on the 95.3 WBCK Morning Show, and feel free to use AppChat to send in your questions.

Tuesday, February 2^nd, at 8:45 am, Bronson Epidemiologist Dr. Richard Van Enk will be on 95.3 WBCK.
Wednesday, February 3^rd, 8:07 am, Calhoun County Medical Officer Dr. William Nettleton will be on 95.3 WBCK.

Pessell says both men are local experts who are respected statewide and nationwide.