Lincoln County Health Dept. waiting on coronavirus vaccine

DAVENPORT – The Lincoln County Health Department is still waiting to hear from the state department of health regarding when the new coronavirus vaccine may be sent to the area.

According to Lincoln County Health Public Health Administrator Ed Dzedzy, guidelines have been adopted for who will receive the vaccine first when it arrives.

“We will issue the vaccine to high-risk health workers, high-risk first responders and residents in assisted living facilities first,” he said.

The second group of recipients will be those with underlying conditions that put them at significantly higher risk.

Dzedzy said Lincoln County was offered the Pfizer vaccine first, but storage requirements that the vaccine be kept at -70 and -80 degrees Fahrenheit were prohibitive. The vaccine developed by the Moderna company, by contrast, needs to be kept at -4 degrees Fahrenheit, has a longer shelf life and is good for 30 days once unthawed.

“All of our facilities have freezers that can keep the Moderna vaccine and we can also order it in batches of 100,” Dzedzy said.

Once received, recipients of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine will need to receive two doses at 28 days apart.