A couple of weeks back, I predicted somewhere on social media that I’d get a COVID vaccination on March 12.
And I made that guesstimate without the benefit of any medical expertise or any deep understanding of the national supply of vaccines or the distribution system and how it is used in our state and our town.
It just seemed about right, that March 12 estimate, given the group-vaccination categories, the new surge in vaccinations pushed by the new Biden administration and my age (69), and general health (not too bad for a guy with my attitude).
And it turns out it might be pretty close, according to state Health Department Secretary Kim Malsam-Rydson. But a lot depends on how the state’s allocation of the vaccines goes between now and then.
“I hope we are getting to 65-plus in early March,” Malsam-Rysdon said Monday. “But I can’t say for certain as we only know what our (vaccine) allocation is for the next week and not after that.”
I reached out to Malsam-Rysdon because I’ve read and heard about 65-year-olds getting their shots in other states — Florida, Texas, Delaware, and Ohio among them. I’m still waiting with a lot of other 65-and-over South Dakotans for my age group to become eligible here in South Dakota.
Different states have taken different approaches. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination priorities began with health-care workers and residents and staff at long-term-care facilities. Then they moved to other special-needs areas, such as those with serious health challenges, and then to a declining age-group sequence beginning with 80-year-olds. But as the vaccine rollout stagnated in some areas and many eligible people didn’t get their shots, the CDC recommended that the states go to 65-and-above.
State prefers a cautious approach to opening age groups
South Dakota is a leader in putting shots in arms. And that’s good. Very good. It is behind some states in getting shots in the arms of those in the lower age groups, including mine.
Malsam-Rysdon wants to get to me and others my age as soon as possible. But because of their concerns about vaccine availability, she and other state officials have been cautious about getting too aggressive in opening other age groups.
“We wanted to be careful to set appropriate expectations, so people understood who we are vaccinating with the limited allocation,” she said. “That is why we started with the 80-year-old group when we got to phase 1D. We are glad to be starting on the 75-plus group this week. We will continue to drop in 5-year increments until all over age 65 have the opportunity to be vaccinated and will then focus on people under 65 with chronic health conditions.”
No state has handled things perfectly. And even some of those states that have already made vaccines available to the lower age groups have had “long lines in many cases,” Malsam-Rysdon said. She said South Dakota “wanted to make sure we had a consistent roll-out across the state, so things are equitable and to minimize frustration over the limited amount of vaccine.”
Getting your name on the list
The state’s health-care systems are hustling to add vaccination capacity to keep up with demand.
At Monument Health here in the Black Hills, the ramped-up vaccination effort now includes space in the former Herberger’s building in the Rushmore Mall and a vacant building in Spearfish.
Monument has hired an additional 80 people to give vaccinations. And the Rushmore Mall location has the potential to give 8,500 shots a week. But don’t just show up looking for a shot. It’s by appointment only to those in eligible groups.
“The only thing that determines how fast we can get people vaccinated is the supplies of vaccine we get,” Monument spokesman Dan Daly said.
Last week Monument launched an online sign-up sheet on its website and began encouraging people to sign up, whether or not their recipient group is eligible yet. In about 10 days, 21,000 people signed up, including me.
Now my name and contact information are on the list and in the right age group, so they’ll contact me when I’m eligible.
The monument link is: https://vaccineregister.monument.health
Sanford and Avera health systems also have online sign-up lists for those waiting for COVID vaccinations. Sanford’s is at https://www.sanfordhealth.org/conditions-diseases/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/vaccine and Avera’s is: https://www.avera.org/services/primary-care/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine/
Vaccination crucial in Indian Country
I asked how the vaccination effort is going among Native Americans in South Dakota, particularly on the reservations. Facing isolation, limited health-care options and sometimes crowded living conditions, especially in the winter, Native people remain among those who have suffered the most, lost the most and are most at risk from the virus.
Malsam-Rysdon said the state’s role in the vaccination effort is more limited with the Native population, many of whom turn to the Indian Health Service for care.
“All tribes in the state elected to get their vaccine allocation through the IHS,” Malsam-Rysdon said. “IHS and other vaccinators (such as the VA health system) aren’t required to report to the state on numbers vaccinated. We know in the aggregate that more than 10,000 doses have been administered by IHS.”
Malsam-Rysdon said the state is in weekly contact with the tribes and is working with them on “culturally appropriate communications to help with vaccine hesitancy” in addition to other points of focus.
“That will be ongoing work,” she said.
Retail Pharmacy Partnership will help, too
South Dakota’s vaccine allocation increased slightly this week over last, which helps. And the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership Program begins operations in the state this week. The program includes the federal government, states, and retail pharmacies. Participating partners in South Dakota are Walmart, Hy-Vee, LeaderNET and Medicine Shoppe, Cardinal Health PSAOs, and GeriMed.
Participating pharmacies vary from state to stay. They will follow state priority vaccination guidelines but get their vaccine allocations from the federal government, not from the state’s allocation. Most participating retail pharmacies are expected to have online sign-up information soon.
The CDC has more information on the partnership at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/retail-pharmacy-program/participating-pharmacies.html
Here’s the state’s website on the sign-up procedure for vaccinations: https://covid.sd.gov/vaccine/default.aspx
With more information on priority groups here: https://doh.sd.gov/COVID/Vaccine/Public.aspx
And here there is information on how people can sign up to volunteer with the expanded vaccination effort when the time for that comes: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4mM6ZvwXie9WSi0BL9V-F8gWLFR-JfHLVfwbNzT6nalphQQ/viewform
Meanwhile, I’m still waiting, and sticking with my March 12 prediction for my long-awaited shot in the arm.
