The Medical Center in Bowling Green is serving as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site for health care workers.
Med Center Health system is offering vaccine clinics to health care workers in the state’s 1a phase for vaccine distribution, which covers virtually all frontline staff who offer direct patient care in hospitals or long-term care settings.
The Medical Center’s vaccination site is available to healthcare employees in all eight counties served by the Barren River District Health Department. That covers the counties of Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Simpson, and Warren.
Dr. Melinda Joyce, Vice President of Corporate Support Services for Med Center Health, says there’s a reason many health care workers can’t be vaccinated at their place of employment.
“What we’re using right now is the Pfizer vaccine, and the Pfizer vaccine has to be kept in an ultra-cold freezer which goes to minus-80 degrees centigrade," Joyce said. "That’s just not something most places have.”
Also, the vaccine is shipped in quantities of 195 vials, which equate to about 1,100 doses. Joyce said that's too many for small clinics to ever use.
Vaccinations are taking place at the WKU Health Sciences Complex on the Medical Center campus in Bowling Green. Registration is required at vaccine@mchealth.net.
Kentucky was scheduled to receive 57,000 more doses of the vaccine this week, either from Pfizer or Moderna.
Governor Andy Beshear stated this week that he’s not satisfied by the pace of vaccinations. As of Monday, health care facilities statewide had received 122,100 doses, but had used just 49,773. Beshear has set a goal of administering 90 percent of all vaccine the commonwealth receives within seven days of its arrival.
Dr. Joyce says the Medical Center is already meeting that goal and estimates more than 60 percent of its frontline workers have received the first of the two-dose vaccine. Joyce adds that Medical Center is immunizing around 500 employees daily and expects to finished with all of its Phase 1a workers by early next week.
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