{"id":49015,"date":"2021-01-26T17:16:38","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T00:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/navajo-hospital-vaccinates-2400-people-in-one-day\/"},"modified":"2021-01-27T00:16:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T00:16:38","slug":"navajo-hospital-vaccinates-2400-people-in-one-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/navajo-hospital-vaccinates-2400-people-in-one-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Navajo hospital vaccinates 2,400 people in one day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Vehicles
Vehicles line up for miles outside the community COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Navajo Nation Shiprock Chapter House in early January. Health professionals were able to administer more than 1,700 vaccine doses at the drive-thru clinic, along with more than 500 doses at the hospital, on the same day.<\/span>Courtesy of Chris Percy\/Northern Navajo Medical Center<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The first day of the community COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Navajo Nation Shiprock Chapter was one for the books.<\/p>\n

The Northern Navajo Medical Center and its partners gave about 2,400 vaccine doses to elders, first responders and health care workers on one day \u2013 1,768 of which were administered at the community clinic. The turnout was four times higher than expected, but health professionals dug in and worked from sunrise to sunset to help their patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the place we could reach the most people was at Shiprock chapter,\u201d said Chris Percy, director of Community Health Services at the medical center. \u201cWe really didn\u2019t know how many people would show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Monday, the Navajo Nation recorded more than 27,500 positive COVID-19 cases, not including border-town cases. There have been 977 confirmed deaths, according to the Navajo Department of Health.<\/p>\n

The Shiprock region, which includes parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, reported about 4,800 positive cases as of Monday, or about 16,470 cases per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n

Since mid-December, the medical center has been vaccinating health care workers and first responders living and working in the community. The first community vaccination clinic held Jan. 6 added people who are 65 or older and who receive care at the hospital to the list.<\/p>\n

\"A
A health professional prepares a COVID-19 vaccine dose for a community member during the Northern Navajo Medical Center&#x2019;s vaccination clinic on Jan. 6.<\/span>Courtesy of Chris Percy\/Northern Navajo Medical Center<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The event, in Shiprock about 75 miles southwest of Durango, was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. It was a collaborative effort between the Northern Navajo Medical Center, several Navajo Nation departments, the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, the Shiprock Youth Conservation Corps and the Shiprock chapter.<\/p>\n

The health professionals expected to administer 400 or 500 vaccine doses and were ready to scale up to 800 doses if necessary, Percy said.<\/p>\n

By 5:30 that morning, people were already lining up to receive their first dose of the two-shot vaccine. The line eventually stretched for miles along U.S. Highway 64 in Shiprock toward Hogback, more than 4 miles to the east.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got sucked into the energy of it,\u201d Percy said. \u201cI was just one of the vaccinators giving shots as the vehicles rolled up \u2013 seeing many patients I hadn\u2019t seen for months and smiling families, happy to bring their grandmas and grandpas to us to get protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vehicles in eight lanes passed through immunization stations and into the 15-minute waiting area, where they were observed for any allergic reactions to the vaccine.<\/p>\n

The clinic had a team of 20 medical professionals thawing and mixing vaccine doses and a transport team delivering them to the Shiprock Chapter House.<\/p>\n

The event was scheduled to stop at 2 p.m., but people continued to come, Percy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided we\u2019d just keep vaccinating as long as we had a supply and there was demand,\u201d he said. \u201cThe last couple of hours, it was dark. We were vaccinating by vehicle lights and flashlights. We finally ran out of vaccine at 6:53 p.m. \u2026 That was a big, crazy day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Patients
Patients ages 65 and older or first responders receive COVID-19 vaccine doses at the community clinic operated by the Northern Navajo Medical Center on Jan. 6.<\/span>Courtesy of Chris Percy\/Northern Navajo Medical Center<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

About 80 high-risk patients and 500 health care workers and first responders received the vaccine at the medical center on the same day, Percy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe planned and planned. \u2026 Just seeing each of the pieces of our team work together so well to serve the community, it was one of those days that you\u2019re going to remember forever,\u201d Percy said.<\/p>\n

The Northern Navajo Medical Center has been administering either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to patients, both of which require two doses to complete the vaccination series.<\/p>\n

As of Sunday, the medical center administered both doses of the vaccine to about 1,000 people, or 60% of the health care workers and first responders, he said.<\/p>\n

The medical center also vaccinated about 3,600 elders ages 65 and older, or about 69% of that patient population, as of Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited that there is so much interest in our community in getting this vaccine,\u201d Percy said. \u201cNot everybody wants to get it, and that\u2019s fine. Some people don\u2019t want to rush in and do things early. \u2026 We want to make it available to those that want it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, everyone who received their first dose Jan. 6 is coming back to finish the process, Percy said.<\/p>\n

In the next few weeks, the center plans to reach high-risk populations younger than 65 years old, such as those with asthma or heart disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to reach the general public yet. We don\u2019t have enough vaccines for that, as we see in the whole country,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re on the same tier system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The effort will take months: The medical center serves more than 35,000 adults eligible to receive the vaccine.<\/p>\n

Since the pandemic began, thousands of our families have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Percy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a tremendous amount of loss,\u201d he said. \u201cMany families have been able to manage by pulling together, and many have suffered terrible losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the ability to offer the vaccine, \u201cwe have a hope that by the end of this summer we possibly could return to a more normal way of life,\u201d Percy said.<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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