aharpster@lewistownsentinel.com
MIFFLINTOWN- There are many misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Many of which scare people away from getting the vaccine. The largest reason people are keeping away from the vaccine is lack of trust.
“These vaccines do not contain any virus particles… They contain no DNA, you cannot get COVID from getting these vaccines. Nothing in it will make you sick… your immune system will respond and start to build an army to prevent infection. Possible side effects may mimic when you feel like you’re coming down with a virus, but any side effects are usually mild and are safer than getting the actual infection” states Dr. George Garrow.
The Daily Yonder Rural Vaccination Rates Vary, and Data Is Hard to Come By In two-thirds of the states where we can track vaccinations by county, rural areas are doing relatively well. One reason may be that a greater percentage of the rural population is eligible for the first rounds of vaccination.
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In these six states, the rate of first vaccinations per 100,000 residents for rural areas is higher than the national rate of 14,600 per 100,000. Data is available for only 24 states as of late February. (Daily Yonder/Covid Act Now)
Some experts worried initially that the nation’s Covid-19 vaccination roll-out might leave rural areas behind. But early numbers from states that provide county-level data on vaccinations show that in about two-thirds of the cases, rural areas holding their own.
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Pa. Robert Keen figured his year of dodging the coronavirus was over. At 84, the retired ambulance driver who still works with his local fire department is among the most at-risk from the disease, and thus was given top priority to get the vaccine. So he called up his doctor last month to schedule an appointment. He was told he would have to wait until April. Keen lives in Forksville, a borough in Sullivan County about 60 miles west of Wilkes-Barre in the northeast. The county has a population of about 6,000 and does not have a hospital. There’s one stoplight, hundreds of acres of forests and state game lands, and one public school district.
The Daily Yonder Rural Providers Get Creative With Vaccine Delivery but Suffer from Lack of Supply Self-contained mobile clinics, vaccination vans, and even seaplanes are part of the plans. But providers are waiting on more vaccines.
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The “Aardvark” Mobile Health system for providing Covid-19 testing and vaccination services in its mobile form. (Photo: Jordan Woolley / Primary Health Primary Health Network)
From Pennsylvania to Alaska, healthcare workers are getting creative with ways to put shots into arms.
But lack of vaccine supply is a major hurdle for putting their plans into action.
Dr. George Garrow, the chief medical officer for Primary Health Network, says he’s ready to take the vaccine to the people to ensure they get it.
PHOTO PROVIDED
Caroline McNamara, RN, ICU, from UPMC Williamsport receives the COVID-10 vaccine.
WILLIAMSPORT– Although vaccinations continue to roll out at a good pace, local health care officials say the process would go faster if not for a lack of trust and too few resources getting COVID vaccines into arms.
Eagerness and trust in science is low in the rural areas of the state with 25 percent of Williamsport residents and 30 percent of Lock Haven residents not willing to learn about or receive the vaccine, UPMC Susquehanna region president and CEO Steve Johnson said at a virtual meeting Wednesday morning.
And the 70 to 75 percent who are eager and have the willingness to gather resources and trust in the science of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations are a majority of those in those brackets of vulnerability –ages 65 or over, with pre-existing conditions or both, Johnson continued.