The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have amended the Phase 1B tier group of individuals eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The expanded list now includes anyone aged 16-64 with the following chronic health conditions:
Cancer; chronic kidney disease; COPD; Down Syndrome; heart conditions (heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies); immunocompromised state from solid organ transplant; obesity (BMI of greater than 30 kg/m2 but less than 40 kg/m2); Severe obesity (BMI greater than 40kg/m2), pregnancy; Sickle cell disease; smoking; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; asthma (moderate to severe); Cerebrovascular disease, Cystic fibrosis, Hypertension or high blood pressure, Immunocompromised state (from blood or bone marrow transplant; immune deficiencies; HIV; use of corticosteroids or other medicines; neurologic conditions such as dementia; liver disease; overweight (BMI greater than 25 kg/m2); pulmonary fibrosis; Thalessemia, Type 1 diabetes.
Other Phase 1B recipients are grouped according to Tiers, ranked in the following order of priority. Tier 1: first responders (firefighters, police, child welfare and social workers). Tier 2: Food, agriculture, manufacturing workers unable to social distance. Tier 3: Staff and residents living in congregate settings, government officials. Tier 4: Inspectors responsible for hospitals, long-term care and child safety. Tier 5: Correctional facility staff and incarcerated individuals.
Winneshiek County Public Health (WCPH)
WCPH will continue to focus vaccination efforts on completing the 65-plus age group. From Monday, March 22 through Monday, April 5 they will open vaccine distribution to anyone aged 40-64 in the amended 1B list (above). Vaccine distribution continues to be limited. Anyone 65 and older who has not been vaccinated, or if you are 40-64 with chronic health conditions, call 563-382-4662 to enroll on the WCPH list.
Winneshiek Medical Center (WMC)
WMC is currently receiving 100 prime (first dose) and 100 booster doses each week. Anyone age 65-plus who wants to receive the vaccine at WMC should call 563-382-2911, Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-4 p.m. to be added to the waiting list. You will be called as doses of the vaccine arrive from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). This waiting list is for first-dose vaccines only; if you have received a first dose at WMC you will be contacted to schedule the second dose.
If you are on the WMC waiting list and receive the vaccine elsewhere, please contact WMC by phone or MyChart so you can be removed from the list.
Beginning Monday, March 22, WMC will start taking names of people 40 years and older for their waiting list. Call WMC between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Gundersen Health Systems
All 100 doses received last week have been administered and no booster vaccine arrived. All patients originally scheduled to receive a booster vaccine were cancelled. New appointments for boosters will be made contingent on vaccine arrival.
Gundersen Health Systems is starting to open the scheduling system to patients 64 and under, with conditions. Notifications are slowly starting to go out through MyChart and via letter. Due to limited allocations, availability is expected to stay low as the focus remains on scheduling patients 65 and older.
Donlon Pharmacy
Donlon Pharmacy will be receiving a shipment of Pfizer vaccine and is planning an appointment-only, community vaccination clinic on Saturday, March 27 at Decorah Middle School. Anyone scheduling a vaccination for this clinic must be able to receive their second dose on Saturday, April 17. No walk-ins will be allowed.
To schedule a first vaccination, visit the scheduling link on donlonrx.com. Refer to the times below for when scheduling will be unlocked and open for use. Patients unable to schedule online may call 563-382-3929 after the times below. No appointment requests will be accepted before these times. Please be patient with staff, as many calls will be received.
Appointment times: Tuesday, March 24 at 10 a.m. for remaining appointments for patients 16-64 with underlying conditions outlined above. Patients 65 and older registered on Friday, March 19.
Walmart Pharmacy
Walmart Pharmacy is partnering with state and federal agencies as we await allocations. We are building a new scheduling tool to make appointment-making easy. Stay up to date on how Walmart and Sam’s Club are supporting the vaccine rollout by visiting the corporate website Walmart.com/covidvaccine. We currently do not have any vaccine available.
Thrifty White Pharmacy
Thrifty White Pharmacy’s website thriftywhite.com has the option to get notified of any appointment openings; click on the “Join Our Notification Waiting List” button. Fill out the required information and select a pharmacy location, then accept the authorization allowing the pharmacy to contact you. If a couple has a joint email address, only one person can sign up to get notified. Once they receive notification, both will be able to schedule.
Thrifty White currently has no vaccine available.
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