Hope Delivered – First COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Arrive in Park County

It’s here.

Photos courtesy of Ashley Trudo

At 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, Cody Regional Health received its first shipment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine – 975 doses that will be distributed to healthcare providers throughout Park County.

Cody Regional Health, Powell Valley Healthcare, and Park County Public Health will receive doses of the vaccine and it is currently being distributed. Those doses will be administered to a prioritized list of healthcare employees – starting with frontline workers – on Thursday, Dec. 17.

This is part of the phased approach for vaccination on the state and national levels, to make sure the first doses go to those with the most critical needs.

• In Phase 1, potentially limited doses of vaccine will be available and they will be targeted to those at highest risk and highest risk of exposure, first responders, and healthcare workers who care for those with critical needs.
• In Phase 2, large numbers of doses will be available, and supply is likely to meet demand. Educational efforts will target critical populations who were not vaccinated in Phase 1.
• In Phase 3, there is likely to be a sufficient supply and all unvaccinated groups will be targeted. Special attention will be directed to populations or communities with low vaccine coverage.

Wyoming’s complete plan may be viewed at https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/immunization/wyoming-covid-19-vaccine-information/

While this is an extremely important development, this isn’t the end of the pandemic. It won’t even been the end of the vaccination process for the Cody Regional Health employees who will be getting inoculated Thursday.

The Pfizer vaccine is not a one-and-done deal; it is administered in two separate shots. After the clinical staff are given their first dose of the vaccine, they will need to receive a second dose within 21 days.

All vaccinated employees will also be asked to continue wearing masks and eye protection, since the Pfizer vaccine – while an immensely scientific achievement in so short a timeframe – isn’t 100% effective. Those who receive it still have a 5% chance they could contract the virus.

Still, the importance of this moment cannot be underestimated. For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a genuine sign of closure has been delivered to Park County.