COVID vaccine distribution plans

[KMSP Fox 9 News, December 01, 2020] An advisory committee for the CDC worked to tackle one of the country’s most pressing questions: Who should be first to get the COVID-19 vaccinations?

The committee voted that healthcare workers and long-term care residents should both get their vaccines right away, but heavily weighted toward healthcare.

Dr. John Smyrski, the Vice President of Abbot Northwestern in the Twin Cities, says his hospital is tight on space due to staff shortages. He says anywhere between 125 and 150 employees are out every day due to COVID-19 exposures.

“And so our goal is to immunize as many as we can at the highest risk to ensure that we are available to provide care for our patients,” said Smyrski.

Smyrski is also part of the vaccine distribution planning process for all of Allina Health. They have more than 15,000 employees in direct patient care and have been told to expect just shy of 3,000 doses of the vaccine later this month.