Locals get second shot at clinic

Local public health officials hosted their second vaccine clinic in Luverne Wednesday at Grand Prairie Events in Luverne.
The clinic provided seconded doses for the nearly 300 people who were vaccinated in the event center Feb. 3. The group included those who were 75 years and older.  
Wednesday’s clinic offered these people their second dose, and it also provided 150 doses of vaccine for K-12 staff, day care providers and people in Phase 1a priority group. 
The majority of people in Phase 1a have been vaccinated and Phase 1b is underway.
Phase 1a includes health care workers, EMS, nursing home and assisted living facility staff and residents, dental offices, pharmacies, mental/behavioral health settings, school nurses, funeral directors, correctional settings and group homes settings. 
Phase 1b includes teachers, grocery store workers, fire, food processing, day care workers, correctional workers, public transit and postal workers, as well as the 75-and-older population. 
Any remaining doses Wednesday were offered to people 65 years and older.
According to Jason Kloss of Southwest Health and Human Services, the agency has been contacting people who completed the COVID-19 vaccination survey on its website to fill the remaining appointments.
“We are prioritizing the list by age,” he said. “Older people will be contacted first.”
He said SWHHS continues to follow the vaccination guidelines developed by the Minnesota Department of Health.
“Vaccination supply is becoming more available,” he said. “Sanford Luverne is focusing on vaccinating people 65 years and older.  SWHHS will continue to offer vaccination clinics to identified essential workers.”
Tammy Loosbrock at Sanford Luverne said signs are pointing in a more positive direction in terms of gaining ground on the pandemic.
“The biggest update is that we are now in the 65 and older group, so we need to encourage people to call in and get scheduled,” she said. “We don’t currently have any inpatients and our testing is down too — all very good signs.
Kloss said the goal is to continue getting vaccine into the arms of local residents.
“As we work together to provide the vaccine to those that want it, we continue to make progress in vaccinating an increasing percentage of Rock County residents,” he said.