An update on Phase 1A of COVID-19 vaccinations was given to the Washington County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

As part of her weekly COVID-19 update, Washington County Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski stated that so far the county has administered 800 doses of vaccine to the population that includes long-term care residents, long-term care workers, and healthcare workers with direct patient care. Pettit-Majewski says her department has two clinics scheduled this week, and only the state as a whole can move onto Phase 1B, “If we have gotten through our 1A population, the best way for us to move forward is to reallocate our remaining 1A allocation to another county so they can get through their 1A so that we can move forward to 1B, that’s probably our biggest group at this point to get to.”

Phase 1B will include essential frontline workers and populations that are 75 years of age and older. Pettit-Majewski says some residents who were allocated in Phase 1A may have received the vaccine in other counties they work in, for example the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. A reallocation would send vaccines to other counties with larger Phase 1A populations.

Pettit-Majewski also noted that local long-term care facilities are being given the vaccine through pharmacy agreements, and distributions may be delayed as the vaccine cannot be administered to active positive cases and those in quarantine. As of Tuesday three long-term care facilities in the county are experiencing outbreaks, and 10 COVID-19 patients in the county are hospitalized.