Joyce Esckilsen learns for the first time that the vaccination in Cavalier County came in from a doctor at the doctor’s office. Later that day, a friend called her to talk about it. Then call another friend to share the exciting development.
News spreads fast “wIf you live in the sticks, “Esckilsen joked.
Within hours, the 85-year-old and her husband reported for the jab, and on January 14, they received their first doses at the province’s public health office in Langdon. The online registration process, even with some technical issues, took no longer than 40 minutes, Esckilsen said.
“It was not a problem at all,” Esckilsen said. “They did a fantastic job.”
Esckilsen and about 750 others in the rural northeastern county received their first shot – a full 20% of the population.
But in North Dakota, the spread of vaccination against Cavalier County is no exception. According to the Department of Health, the state has led the country in the efficient deployment of vaccines, with nearly 93% of the allotted doses. Despite receiving proportionately fewer doses than a handful of other states, North Dakota ranks third in doses administered per capita, just behind Alaska and West Virginia and several advances ahead of Minnesota and Southern Virginia. Dakota. A total of 11.5% of North Dakota’s population received its first point, compared to a nationwide rate of about 8.8%.
COVID-19 vaccinations are being prepared for use at the former Gordmans location in Fargo. David Samson / The Forum
In other parts of the country, dozens of reports have surfaced of doses being lost because providers could not issue them on time under strict guidelines, but good planning, deep community ties and some built-in benefits have the win for Peace Garden State.
There is still a long way to go to achieve COVID-19 herd immunity, but North Dakota is definitely on the right track, state vaccination coordinator Molly Howell said.
No single factor can explain North Dakota’s prosperous vaccination, but officials began sowing the seeds of success long before the drug was ever approved by the federal government.
Howell and her team gathered pharmacists, medical professionals, nursing home managers and tribal officials in late summer to develop a plan for the distribution of the vaccine as soon as it came out. Howell forged through the meetings and other pandemic interactions.
The group aimed to solve problems before they arose by designing strategies for hypothetical scenarios. The brainstorming led the state to plan for a central Bismarck warehouse where large quantities of doses could be distributed and sent to small towns that required only a few doses.
“We have such limited amounts of vaccine that it was very important to break it down and get it into rural areas,” Howell said. “Otherwise we would have to expect people to travel long distances to be vaccinated.”
The state also purchased several ultra-cold freezers and transport coolers to store the Pfizer vaccine in the warehouse. This foresight leads to an extra day for the vaccine to be distributed, which could make a big difference, Howell said.
Unlike some states where the vaccine is restricted, North Dakota has decided to enroll any pharmacy, local health unit, hospital or clinic that wants to administer the shot. About 400 vaccine providers have now been reported to the state.
In smaller communities, independent pharmacies played an important role in reaching residents of nursing homes, which helped North Dakota vaccinate the priority group faster than most other states, Howell said.
The big picture ideas developed during the planning period combined well with the small details executed locally.
Cavalier County Health District Administrator Steph Welsh said the rural and close-knit nature of her area was an important asset, and the entire country teamed up to spread the word about the vaccine. Local businesses put leaflets in their windows with the web link to the registration of vaccines, pharmacies and the grocery store added paper inserts to bags of food and medicine, and the city newspaper spread the message to readers, Wallies said. Clergymen have helped fewer tech congregations register online.
“It’s the beauty of living somewhere small and rural – everyone looks out for each other and wants to help,” Wallies said.
A farmer plants wheat in a field adjacent to the ABM plant in Nekoma, ND Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
In urban areas, there were other keys to the logistical triumph of vaccine distribution.
Bismarck-Burleigh, director of public health, Renae Moch, said most of the shots given by her agency are fired via a drive-through setup at the Bismarck Event Center. Health officials developed the ongoing process to do COVID-19 testing months ago, but the same idea led him to vaccination, especially with the mobility issues of much older residents eligible for the sting.
The agency also recruited state detectives to help residents register for appointments by telephone.
Welsh and Moch said the dose has been the most persistent so far. Demand exceeds the supply they receive from the federal government, and both officials said their agencies could easily scale up operations if more doses were available.
“People want the vaccine. They’re anxious to get it,” Moch said. “We have had such gracious people coming through our vaccine clinics who had tears because they were finally getting their vaccine, and they have not been seeing or leaving their family for almost a year.”
Warren Larson was one of thousands who went through a Bismarck transit clinic to get his first shot. According to the 71-year-old cancer survivor, he gave peace of mind by getting the vaccine, although he notes that he does not wear the mask quickly or do social distancing.
Larson said he has always been a believer in vaccines because he had friends who suffered from polio, which has since been eradicated in the United States. He reported for the COVID-19 shot as soon as possible, saying he was impressed by the ease and efficiency of the process.
Esckilsen also plays the long game with the virus and says she will not stop wearing a mask. But the consequences of herd immunity are clear to her. Once the pandemic swept over, she had “three new grandmothers” in Georgia and Colorado to get together.