While COVID-19 has been relatively calm in Del Norte County, that doesn’t mean work around is slowing down.On Tuesday, Dr. Warren Rehwaldt, the county public health authority, told the board of supervisors work is ongoing in an effort to vaccinate as many people as possible. And the work is not easy.Rehwaldt told supervisors his small staff is not able to keep up with the work, so he recently called for volunteers with medical experience to help.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');“We have some vaccine now. We don’t have a lot,” he said. “We’re still working on the Phase 1A list. We’re talking to pharmacies and dental offices this week. We’ve had some interest since we put out a bulletin this week for volunteers.”Rehwaldt said the vaccines being used – both Pfizer and Moderna – are unusual when compared to most vaccines used in the country.“This has never been attempted, something like this. It’s the first time for the entire nation,” Rehwaldt said. “It’s a complicated vaccine. They are finicky, they have short time windows when you can use them. They have a very short window that they can be refrigerated, they have to be kept at ultra-cold temperatures. Plus, it’s a mass vaccination of the majority of the entire country, that’s the goal.“I don’t think anyone can point to a vaccination effort like this in the last 100 years. It’s a big, big project. Locally, we’re going to need some help from volunteers. We’re laying the groundwork for all of that as we speak. It’s been a busy few weeks and it’s going to be a busy couple of months.”Rehwaldt said the local health authority is required to follow guidelines set by the state. That means front-line health workers and some emergency responders get the first vaccines. Next in line are people over age 75 with underlying medical conditions, teachers and school staff. He said it will be some time before the average person can expect to have vaccinations available.“Getting our seniors, our most vulnerable people vaccinated as quickly as we can accomplish has a huge payoff,” Rehwaldt said. “It takes the pressure off our system, it takes the pressure off the people who are most vulnerable. It’s a win, win. After we get through the phase 1A status, we are going to work on that.”Rehwaldt said he is working with pharmacies and some medical practices to help get the vaccine out, especially when it arrives in larger numbers.“We really want to squeeze every does out of every vial we can,” he said. “We’re asking people to be patient, work with their provider offices and be ready to get vaccinated when they can.”Supervisor Bob Berkowitz sked Rehwaldt how the health authority planned to get the word out, especially to seniors, when the vaccine is available.Rehwaldt said he would use the local press, the county website and medical offices to help spread the word. He said medical offices can begin making lists of those over 75 who would be near the top of the list.Supervisor Gerry Hemmingsen asked how many vaccines could be given a day. He also asked how many doses the county gets every week and how much of it is stored.“We aren’t storing anything locally yet, we just literally got our freezers yesterday,” Rehwaldt said. “We’re going to get them set up.”Rehwaldt said the county will have three freezers, one the county purchased and two donated to the county. He said it would take a few weeks to get everything set up and tested.“Once that’s up and ready, we reconfigure our application to the state,” Rehwaldt said.Currently, Pfizer doses, which requires extremely cold storage, are held in Humboldt County and around once a week a Del Norte representative will go pick them up. Can accept Pfizer. Have 300-400 doses of Moderna. Most set for Phase 1A. Some will be held for second doses. Humboldt County holding Pfizer vaccine right now. Go down once a week to draw out doses. He said his goal is to be able to give out 100 vaccines a day, once supply is available.“Then it depends on the vaccine availability. If there’s a lot of vaccine coming down the pipeline, game is on,” Rehwaldt said.“My concern is we’re holding that for people who aren’t available to receive it,”Hemmingsen said. “There are people who want it. I am concerned we’re holding and not injecting. If we have the ability to inject this vaccine, I think we should. I don’t want to be a holding facility, I don’t want to be a repository. The only thing I would like to see is that we don’t store this, that we actually get it out to the public.”Rehwaldt told supervisors that was the goal.“The number of doses we have is nowhere near the volume we’re going to need for that part of the rollout,” he said. “A lot of this really depends on the vaccine supply coming from the state and federal level. When that happens, we really need to be ready roll out.”Rehwaldt said Del Norte County has more than 4,000 people over the age of 65, and he hopes to get as many as possible vaccinated quickly. But for now, there is a wait for the vaccine supply to reach demand. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });