She may not have left the clinic with a lollipop, but at least one happy camper emerged from the Regional COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at the State Fairgrounds in Lewisburg. Julia Gaitor and her husband called for an appointment, were given a block of time in which to arrive and received their greatly welcomed vaccinations.
“We called the health department, got through on the first try and got on the list right away,” said Gaitor. Although, they didn’t know what to expect. “As a 70 and over year-olds, [we] were invited to receive the vaccine.” Gaitor said the regional center was organized and efficient and she and her husband were inoculated and out the door quickly
“It’s in the WV State Building at the fairgrounds,” she explained. “You park, enter the building, the area is set up to distance you, probably 20 people at a time waiting in one waiting area, register, they give you a card and then you get your shot, sit 15 minutes in another distanced area,” she said, and then, that was it.”
Gaitor also commented, “there wasn’t any traffic or line to speak of when we arrived at 11 a.m. When we left, however, a line of cars started to form. I have no idea if they had to wait in line for very long or not. We are just happy we were able to get the shot.”
Asked if it hurt, Gaitor said “My arm is sore, but I was able to do yoga.”
Gaitor continued, “It was a great relief for my family because my son worries about me, so other family members are thrilled we have had our first injection and we will follow up for the second shot in three weeks.”
“West Virginia is luckier than other states,” Gaitor shared.
She’s been hearing from friends and family in other states. “In other states, I have heard people are having to go through large pharmacy companies. … A friend from upstate New York told me that her first shot won’t be until mid-March, and in Ohio, they haven’t even started on the 80 year-olds yet. We are ahead of the curve.”
As everyone continues to wait for their turn to receive shots, she added, “we are still wearing our masks, social distancing and can only hope in 21 days there will be vaccine available. It’s wonderful for us so far.”
Chad Meador said “as of afternoon Friday at 1:40 p.m., we’ve had 637 cases in Summers County. This past week we had two deaths Friday. It wears on my mind as I leave for home after a long week. This has been discouraging.”
“This week we were unable to receive vaccines [],” Chad says. It’s because West Virginia is not getting enough doses — 27,000 statewide. “That’s not a lot. This week a regional clinic was set up for 80 and above, then 70 and above year olds. I believe the clinic administered 500 inoculations. We were only allotted 40 slots I’m aware of.” That’s Raleigh, Greenbrier, Summers, Monroe, Fayette, McDowell, Mercer and Pocahontas Counties — a lot of counties pulling from the same allotment.
Meador continued, “Next week there will be additional regional clinics, fairgrounds, a location to be named in Raleigh county and one in Mercer county. How each individual would be given a shot, we don’t know yet. …. We don’t know about Raleigh county operations or any plans solidified yet. It’s hard to get and deliver answers.”
“In a couple of weeks, we will get a lot more boost doses. It’s a very busy week next week. 323 people have to be called to get their second dose, and we will learn what we are capable of doing,” Meador noted.
“We couldn’t give as many shots as the clinic in Lewisburg. I like the regional approach as long as the local health depts across the state have some vaccine to give to [our] people. We can’t have a turf war over this. We can’t give a thousand a week, here. We do a darned good job and a lot of people helping but we are not equipped to give a thousand doses a week.
Last week when we were told we weren’t getting any vaccine I knew something was up. West Virginia is just not getting the doses from the federal government. That’s the bottleneck.
What’s the governor say? He’s optimistic, asks for patience. I don’t have a problem with the state government, we just have to wait. We just have to wait and not ruffle feathers. We can’t get down, can’t move backward, we’ve gotta keep moving forward. It’s gonna be throughout the summer and into the fall. We probably have 4-500 people 70 above waiting for this shot.”
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