Health Leaders Discuss Next Steps for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

 

 

YORK COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) 10 million, that’s how many dosages of the COVID-19 vaccine state leaders are working to roll out, here in South Carolina. But many citizens even here in our area, are continuing to voice their concerns about how and when they can get vaccinated.

67-year-old Darylene Finkelstein is patiently waiting her turn, “The vaccine is like a huge ray of light to me, huge.”

She was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2019 and because of her condition her doctors recommend vaccination. With others around the country with similar conditions begin getting vaccinated, here at home, being in Phase 1 group C she’s concerned about the wait.

“The possibility of getting COVID is much worse for my health than any side effects that I might have for COVID. So they would recommend that in my particular circumstance that I would get the vaccine,” says Finkelstein.

Since Wednesday when vaccinations became available to those over the age of 70, Piedmont has been able to vaccinate around 600 people per day. And health leaders in our area say that this area has been among the first in the state to collaborate with so many leaders from different professional backgrounds. As the vaccine continues to roll out they’re asking residents to stay patient.

Piedmont Medical C.E.O., Mark Nosacka, says adding vaccinations on top of testing has been a challenge. He hopes to get to a point where they can get more people vaccinated each day.

“We want to get everybody vaccinated. However, we’re just at the beginning and so there’s a couple of things that people need to know. There’s a limited supply that hasn’t gotten to our community and a great supply yet so we’re starting with a smaller group of people and we’re expanding,” says Nosacka.

He says the next step is building larger spaces to administer doses and getting more community help in getting people registered to take the vaccine.

“Right now we’re building the infrastructure, if you will, for a larger clinic and we’re gonna have some coordinators that’ll help us sign up some volunteers,” says Nosacka.

The more volunteers, the sooner people like Darylene can get vaccinated.

Finkelstein says, “Managing it is important and I like that, but it needs to be I think the most important thing that any of those people are thinking about and I’m sure for most of them it is.”

In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson is speaking with our areas health leaders and people in the community getting vaccine updates and hearing out residents concerns.

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