BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed the state received 29,250 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and 28,900 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine over the past week.
Given that, as of Friday, January 15, Louisiana has diverted 93,600 doses of vaccine to the long-term care facility (LTCF) federal partnership program, this week all 28,900 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine came directly to the state. As of last Friday, 10,622 LTCF residents and 5,341 LTCF staff have received the vaccine.
These vaccines will be available only for:
Persons ages 70 years or older in the community,
Outpatient clinic providers and clinic staff,
Urgent care clinic providers and staff,
Community care clinic providers and staff,
Behavioral health providers and staff,
Dialysis providers and patients,
Home health service providers and recipients,
Dental providers and staff, and
Students, residents, faculty and staff of allied health schools (if not already receiving vaccine or in a plan to receive from their respective schools)
Most of the 210 providers that previously received the vaccine received vaccines this week. The remaining either received large shipments from Pfizer or are still working through their Moderna inventory.
The vaccine is now available at Evangeline Drug Store in Ville Platte along with Reed’s Family Pharmacy in Mamou and Thrifty Way Pharmacy of Ville Platte.
It is also available at Maple Avenue Pharmacy and Super 1 Pharmacy #637 in Eunice.
Participating providers must make available vaccine available to anyone who is eligible. Failure to do so will inform future decisions about distribution.
LDH has published the list of participating providers, along with their locations and contact information, on its website: covidvaccine.la.gov
In addition, residents can call 211 to find a vaccine provider near them.
Eligible residents must contact a participating provider and make an appointment with them. Patients who arrive without an appointment will not be vaccinated. Do not arrive at a location without an appointment. LDH cannot make appointments for patients; only providers can.
The Louisiana Department of Health is coordinating the COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort in Louisiana. As more vaccines become available from the CDC, more individuals and groups will be offered a vaccination.
To boost the speed of administering COVID-19 vaccines to the community, the Louisiana Department of Health is encouraging retired medical providers to help put shots in arms.
“We do not expect the vaccine to become widely available for the general public until spring or summer, but we are doing all we can now to make sure we are ready when that time comes,” said Dr. Sundée Winder, Interim Executive Director of the Bureau of Community Preparedness. “We appreciate qualified retired medical providers who are willing to join the effort to begin putting this pandemic behind us.”
Those eligible to volunteer include retired:
Physicians and osteopaths,
Nurses,
Pharmacists,
Dentists,
Paramedics and emergency medical technicians, and
Physician’s assistants.
Work days and times will be flexible, with mornings, afternoons and evenings available. Personal protective equipment and training will be provided.
Those interesting in volunteering should email DHHEOC03@la.gov and designate their preferred work days, times and parish or parishes. Volunteers also should register with Louisiana Volunteers in Action (LAVA), the Department of Health’s volunteer database.
The Louisiana Department of Health strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state residents. The Louisiana Department of Health includes the Office of Public Health, Office of Aging & Adult Services, Office of Behavioral Health, Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, and Healthy Louisiana (Medicaid). To learn more, visit www.ldh.la.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our blog.
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Staff Report