MEDIA RELEASE
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION
Sheridan County, Wyoming
Contact: COVID-19 PIO Jennifer Graves at jgraves@sheridancounty.com or 307-210-9066
For the latest COVID-19 monitoring numbers, visit www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19.
Limited vaccine supply; Sheridan County’s vaccination process
January 13, 2021 – Sheridan County’s Incident Management Team has gathered the following information to help inform the community about the COVID-19 vaccination process and status.
Key points: • COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be in limited supply, and therefore provided in a tiered approach, for the next few months. • Sheridan County Public Health, following the priorities developed by the CDC and Wyoming Department of Health, will expand eligibility to include more populations when supplies can support additional vaccinations. Please stay tuned locally, as this could be different than the state or neighboring communities.
• To keep the community informed of the county’s current vaccination priorities, appointments and supplies, Sheridan County has posted a vaccine-specific webpage available from their COVID-19 Information site (www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19/). • Vaccine providers are experiencing high call volumes, as many residents are eager to get the vaccine. Vaccine providers The following entities are providing vaccines to specific populations as supplies are available: • Sheridan Memorial Hospital and Sheridan County Public Health are administering vaccinations for individuals who are currently eligible in Sheridan County (eligibility tiers listed below). • Walgreens is administering vaccinations to residents and staff of long-term care facilities and assisted living facilities, dependent upon contract negotiations. Walgreens, Sheridan County Public Health and local facilities are collaborating to enable residents to receive vaccinations at the earliest possible time. • The Sheridan VA Medical Center is administering vaccines to enrolled Veterans who are 85 years of age or older, or those with certain conditions. VA care teams are contacting enrolled Veterans to offer the vaccinations, based on a phased plan. Vaccine supply
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Sheridan County Public Health and Sheridan Memorial Hospital share the allotment of vaccine doses provided by the state. Both facilities require appointments to get the vaccine and they only schedule appointments for the number of doses of the vaccines the county is scheduled to receive. “Vaccinations will be more like a marathon than a sprint,” said Sheridan County Public Health Nurse Manager Debra Haar. “Supplies are going to be limited for at least a few months, so we are not going to be able to vaccinate everyone who is interested right away. We appreciate everyone’s patience and continued vigilance with the necessary COVID-19 precautions while we work through this together. We will do everything possible to make all vaccine doses we receive available to the community as soon as possible.” Populations currently eligible to receive a vaccine (when in stock) • 1a populations (see full list), which includes: o hospital and urgent care staff o EMS personnel o long-term care and assisted living facility occupants o other health care providers • Rows 1-3 of 1b populations (see full list), which includes: o in-person emergency response personnel not included in Phase 1a o funeral service practitioners (including clergy) o people who are 70 years of age or older Public Health does not have an estimate on when additional populations will become eligible. “Our ability to open it up to more populations is dependent on the amount of vaccines we will receive in the coming months, and how many people are interested in receiving the vaccine, both of which are unknowns at this point,” said Haar. Updates will be posted on Sheridan County’s COVID-19 vaccine page as more information becomes available. Appointment availability Sheridan Memorial Hospital (SMH) is currently scheduling appointments. For those eligible to receive a vaccine (listed above), call 307-675-4471 for an appointment. You will be asked to leave a message and can expect a call back within 48 hours. Once SMH appointments are full (i.e. all current doses are spoken for), they will accept names for a waiting list for individuals currently eligible, but unable to make an appointment yet. Sheridan County Public Health does not have any available appointments at this time. They anticipate opening additional appointments once the state releases the February vaccine distribution plan. That plan is expected in late January. Public Health is not creating a waiting list at this time. Residents who are eligible and interested in receiving a vaccine are encouraged to check www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19 regularly to determine when appointments are available.
Continued vigilance necessary
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Sheridan County’s IMT urges the community to continue to stay home when ill, wear a mask, socially distance, avoid large gatherings, clean frequently touched surfaces, and wash your hands. Even with improved case numbers and more vaccines on the way, everyone needs to remain vigilant in their efforts to slow the spread of the virus. Your hard work protects you, your family, and your community.
