Photo from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Marion County has been allocated to receive 1,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Marion County Public Health Director Kim Dorn tells KNIA/KRLS News that Marion County Public Health and Knoxville Hospital & Clinics will each receive 200 doses, while Pella Regional Health Center will receive 600 doses. These vaccinations will be distributed to those in Phase 1A of the priority population. These people include:

– Health Care Providers with direct patient contact and thus are unable to telework, including those who work in inpatient, outpatient, or community settings, who provide services to patients or patient family members, or handle infectious material.

– Health Care Providers working in residential care or long term care facilities

– Skilled nursing facility residents

The FDA meeting for the Moderna product is scheduled for Thursday, December 17th, with shipping anticipated to take place sometime the week of December 21st. Dorn adds that the order in which each population group will have access to the vaccine will be dictated by the Iowa Department of Public Health, and that it will take “some time” for the vaccine to be widely available. Procedures will be similar in other Iowa counties. The Moderna vaccine is 94.5% effective in early results and is generally well tolerated.