MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County Health Officer Dr. Lee Smith said the department quickly learned by offering COVID-19 vaccinations by appointment to elderly residents was better than their initial plans of first-come, first-served.
“We opened up a phone line on Sunday, so people were here through the holiday weekend planning for that,” Smith said during an appearance Monday on MetroNews “Talkline. “That opened up at noon and things went extremely fast- it was like giving tickets out to a concert.”
Within 45 minutes all 100 spots were reserved, but Smith is confident more doses will be allocated to the county in the near future.
“We are trying to get the word out that people should not despair if they did not make the initial cut of 100 doses,” Smith said. “We’re being told that this will be an ongoing supply.”
The number to call to make an appointment or for vaccine information is 304-598-5196. The statewide vaccine information line can be reached at 833-734-0965.
Dr. Lee Smith, Executive Director and Health Officer for Monongalia County, talks with @HoppyKercheval about the vaccine distribution to those 80+. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/TlCgyU8h31
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 4, 2021
“We just trying to react to it, so we can have a successful mechanism to schedule,” Smith said,” I know other health department are doing the same thing and standing up call centers.”
The early rollout and distribution, combined with the holiday period may have hurt the effectiveness of the early campaign to get the elderly vaccinated, according to Smith.
“I feel very confident that the supply lines will become better established now that we’re no longer in the holidays and and we’ll be getting more vaccine in a timely fashion,” Smith said.
Monongalia County officials have plans to form a mobile team to administer the vaccine to those who are homebound. Additionally, officials are working directly with minority communities to ensure all those 80 and older have a fair chance to get the vaccine.
“Most people will have access or a family member with a phone that they can their local health department to get instructions to get their name on a list,” Smith said.