Perham Health received its first shipment of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Monday, Dec. 21, and immediately started giving it to its frontline workers.
Over the course of the next several weeks, the health care organization says it will continue to vaccinate its employees.
“While this process is just starting, a safe and effective vaccine will have a game-changing impact on the
course of the pandemic,” Dr. Mark Paulson of Perham Health said in a news release. “I’m here getting the vaccine because I know it’s the best way to protect my patients, my family, and my community.”
Residents of the long-term care facility at Perham Living will also receive the vaccine in the next several days. It is anticipated the community will have the vaccine available to them in early 2021.
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Over the coming weeks, Otter Tail County is expected to receive both the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine, according to a news release from Otter Tail County.
Local health care partners and Otter Tail County Public Health will carry out distribution plans that have been months in the making. Following the guidance of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice and subsequent Minnesota Department of Health recommendations and guidance, priority populations will be phased in to receive the first available doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The first priority population, group 1A, to receive the vaccine will be that health care personnel who work directly with COVID-19 patients, staff and residents in skilled nursing facilities, emergency medical services personnel who provide direct patient care, COVID-19 community vaccinators, and those who work at community COVID-19 testing facilities.
Beyond the 1A priority group, is group 1B, which will include an expansion of those not included in the first group. This includes those living and working in assisted care facilities, other direct patient care providers in hospitals and clinics including dialysis centers and urgent care clinics.
The third phase, group 1C, will include all remaining health care personnel that work in hospitals, ambulatory and outpatient settings, home health settings, emergency shelters, long term care facilities, dental offices, pharmacies, public health clinics, mental/behavioral health settings, correctional settings, group homes. In addition, adult residents living in many residential settings that service those at risk will be eligible for the vaccine.
Until the COVID-19 vaccine is widely available, Otter Tail County Public Heath asks that everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue to practice prevention measures like wearing a face mask, maintaining social distancing, and avoiding gatherings with that outside of your household.
More information also is available by calling Otter Tail County Public Health at 218-998-8320 going to ottertailcountymn.us .
A recent question and answer with Dr. Paulson of Perham Health regarding the vaccine can be viewed on the Perham Health blog at perhamhealth.org/blog .
