COVID numbers still low in Haywood; vaccination effort steady
Mar. 26—While the COVID-19 vaccine supply is relatively static for hospitals and health departments, other entities are receiving increased doses in the county.
Last week, Ingles pharmacies in Haywood received more vaccine doses, and the mass vaccination clinic at Western Carolina University still receives 2,000 doses a week.
This Saturday, said Haywood County Medical Director Mark Jaben, anyone with any ties at all to Cherokee, where the Eastern Band of the Cherokee has been getting separate doses, will be able to be vaccinated there, including those who simply drive through the area.
"They believe they have their community vaccinated, so they are throwing the doors open to anyone," Jaben said.
Between the Haywood County Health Department and Haywood Regional Medical Center, a total of 700 doses are now available for distribution weekly according to the groups eligible under state priority listings. Healthcare workers, those age 65 and older and other essential workers were targeted for vaccination early on. On March 31, eligibility will be opened all with high-risk medical conditions, and by April 7, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced vaccinations will be available to anyone who wants them.
Jaben described the "swap shop," a Friday conference call of all receiving vaccine doses in the region that was set up through the Dogwood Trust to ensure that every dose of vaccine was used as quickly as possible.
"All providers say how much vaccine they are getting, whether they need it all, whether they need more and they swap based on the needs," Jaben said. "That ensures all doses received in the western region stay here."
To date, the hospital/health department partnership has administered 13,855 first doses and 10,119 second doses, said Garron Bradish, Haywood COVID-19 vaccine coordinator.
Many others in the county have been vaccinated, though, as the number does not include those at long-term care facilities or anyone who received their vaccinations at other nearby sites.
Jaben said many scheduled to receive their first shot through the Haywood County effort haven't been showing up because they were able to get vaccinated elsewhere, but noted each time a new group becomes eligible, the number of those keeping appointments rise.
There are discussions about expanding outreach clinics such as setting up at onsite at a large manufacturing company, Jaben said, or setting aside an afternoon to vaccinate everyone in Fines Creek, for instance.
Case numbers
Haywood is continuing is trend of lower case numbers, with new positive cases ranging from 0-7 a day, Jaben said. However, on Thursday, there were 12 new cases reported, a trend that seems to mirror higher numbers in the region.
"We don't know if it was a one-day thing or whether we can put much stock in it," he said, "but this is a race against variants. The good part is, with case counts down, we can start to focus on where people are getting the virus and reach out to do more widespread screening and vaccinations in that group. This is a chance to target things a lot better."
When the vaccination clinics started, all available staff — and a healthy number of volunteers Jaben said to be enthusiastic and invaluable — were focused on that. Contact tracing efforts where staff members reached out to near contacts of someone testing positive ceased except for those conducted by the school system, Jaben explained.
Case investigation has been ongoing — an effort to trace where an infection may have originated, and those who tested positive were asked to warn friends or other contacts on their own.
"It will be incredibly important to limit spread, whether it is monitored through the health department or people on their own," Jaben said, noting this piece of the COVID response is as critical a piece as vaccinations. "We need too sustain limited spread and that is especially important during Easter and spring break."
