Peterson Health Chief of Staff Dr. Mack Blanton announced the expected local distribution and administration of the newly-approved Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved for emergency use authorization by the Food & Drug Administration on Friday, to occur within a week to 10 days.
Blanton participated in a Community COVID-19 Update Thursday afternoon, along with other community leaders. The FDA EU approval of the Moderna vaccine was announced late Friday.
Blanton explained that he expected the timeline for the Moderna vaccine to be similar to that of the Pfizer vaccine, which was approved by the FDA for emergency use a week earlier.
“The vaccine by Pfizer is being administered in our state and in our country as we speak,” Blanton said.
Blanton said both vaccines were created using Messenger RNA Technology (mRNA).
According to the Centers for Disease Control, mRNA vaccines have been rigorously tested for safety before being authorized for use in the United States; do not contain a live virus and do not carry a risk of causing disease in the vaccinated person; and mRNA from the vaccine never enters the nucleus of the cell and does not interact with a person’s DNA.
“I must stress there were no corners cut in the development of these vaccines,” Blanton said. “Operation Warp Speed, which you’ve heard of, really put together all forces to produce these vaccines at a rapid rate and I can assure you that no corners were cut as far as safety in these vaccines.”
Blanton said both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have an efficacy rate of approximately 95 percent, which he says incredible.
“This was not expected with the production of a COVID-19 vaccine, so a lot of scientists and officials are very happy,” Blanton said.
Blanton said that the Phase 3 Trials for the vaccines included 30,000 and 44,000 participants, respectfully.
“In those participants in the trials, there were no serious adverse events noted,” Blanton said. “There were local adverse affects, for instance pain, swelling and redness where the injection was administered. Patience also had some systemic symptoms of fever, headache and muscle aches as well.”
Blanton also addressed reports of two or three patients having an allergic reaction to the vaccine, which he said is not uncommon.
“Anaphylaxis is not uncommon with any vaccine, so it is not unexpected,” Blanton said.
He said the allergic reaction is treated with epinephrine, which rapidly resolves the situation.
“The big question is when will Kerrville receive our vaccine. That question is something I can’t answer precisely, but I anticipate with the approval of the Moderna vaccine by the FDA that hopefully within a week to 10 days that we will be seeing vaccine in our community,” Blanton said.
Blanton said that Peterson Health did not receive authorization to receive the Pfizer vaccine due to storage requirements not required by the Moderna product, saying the Pfizer vaccine requires storage in “ultra cold” environments of minus 80 degrees.
“We did not have that capability (ultra cold storage) at the time we submitted for certification as a vaccine provider, but will have in January,” Blanton said. “The Moderna vaccine, on the other hand, does not require an ‘ultra cold’ storage capability. It is standard refrigeration capability.”
“I think its pretty clear to everyone that we will not get past this viral pandemic without a vaccine,” Blanton said. “Our therapeutics against the virus are helping in our treatment of patients with active COVID, but they are not sufficient to mitigate and eliminate the viral pandemic from our community, our state and our nation, so a COVID-19 vaccine is critically important to get us beyond this pandemic.”
Blanton said priority distribution for initial doses has been established by the CDC and Texas Department of State Health Services in three tiers.
“The first tier will be healthcare workers who are taking care of these COVID-19 patients. They are at the highest risk for transmission of the virus to them, since they are actively exposed over a prolonged period,” Blanton said.
Blanton said top priority will also include healthcare workers and long-term care facility staff.
As production of the vaccine ramps up, Blanton said the next tier will include teachers and first responders.
The next group to be considered priority recipients are those citizens over the age of 65 and high risk individuals.
Peterson Health operations
Cory Edmondson, president and CEO of Peterson Health, said positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are sharply increasing, but said Peterson Health is managing COVID-19 and not letting COVID-19 get the upper hand.
“As we all know, the last three weeks or so have been pretty rough,” Edmondson said.
In November, Edmondson said Peterson Health was testing 15 patients per day on average, with a positivity rate of 12 percent.
“From the beginning of December, up until now, we are having a positivity rate of around 20 percent on average and we are seeing about 29 patients per day that are testing positive for COVID,” Edmondson said. “That’s a significant jump. I think that people who once thought that COVID is not real, now know that it is real.”
While the numbers of hospitalized patients continue to increase, Edmondson said Peterson Health is handling the surge.
“We haven’t hit our capacity in the number of beds or the number of patients we are able to treat,” Edmondson said. “We have a surge capacity in place to manage those increased volumes. We have a game plan. Let me assure you of that.”
Edmondson said the management of the influx of COVID-19 patients added to the regular in-patient care numbers is only possible due to a dedicated staff.
“We couldn’t do that (surge) if it wasn’t for a phenomenal nursing staff, physician staff, housekeeping staff, material management and facilities management staff … everyone involved in making this community successful in being able to handle things here at Peterson,” Edmondson said. “I’m proud of all of them for being able to accomplish what we’ve been able to do.”
Edmondson said the Peterson COVID-19 Hotline (896-4200), Option 1) remains operational and encouraged citizens to call with any questions regarding symptoms or testing for the coronavirus.
“The call volume is high and we ask that you be patient,” Edmondson said.
He also encouraged citizens to seek treatment and not be concerned about being exposed to the virus at the emergency room, hospital or doctors’ offices.
Edmonson also urged citizens to follow rules for mitigation, in an effort stay safe and keep frontline workers safe.
Kerrville Fire Department
Kerrville Fire Department Chief Eric Maloney reported that in the month of November, active COVID-19 cases went from 70 to over 300 and that as of Dec. 16, active cases were 400.
Maloney reminded citizens that the Top 5 Symptoms are fever, with 78 percent of patients experiencing the fever; cough (57 percent); fatigue (31 percent); loss of smell (25 percent); and difficulty breathing (23 percent).
He added that chills, headaches, muscle aches, loss of taste, loss of appetite, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, nausea and diarrhea are additional symptoms of the coronavirus.
“Be aware of the symptoms. Be aware of symptoms that are unusual for you, so you can identify if you potentially have COVID,” Maloney said.
Testing options for local citizens, Maloney said, are:
• Peterson Urgent Care, 1740 Junction Hwy, for symptomatic patients only, (830) 258-7669;
• Peterson Medical Associates, 1331 Bandera Hwy., call for appointment, (830) 896-4200, ext. 1;
• Franklin Clinic, 723 Hill Country Dr., Suite C, pre-register online, drive-through testing scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Free testing
Maloney said that area residents will be provided free community testing on Saturday, Jan. 9 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hill Country Youth Event Center. No appointment is necessary.
“Bringing this all together, the thing that puts you at most risk is close contact (with others),” Maloney said.
He said that with the holidays coming, it is important to stay more than 6 feet away from others, do not share food or drink and sharing eating utensils are problematic.
“Staying less than 6 feet away from someone with COVID for more than 15 minutes puts you at a high risk,” Maloney said.
Other best practices for avoiding the coronavirus are, he said:
• Do not go to work if you are sick;
• Do not share community food or drink;
• Wear a mask. Masks are the key to reducing the spread of the virus;
• Social distance, even during the holidays, and;
• Follow the quarantine or isolation instructions.
“Be smart and accountable over the holidays and we will enjoy an even better holidays next year,” Maloney said.
Mayor Bill Blackburn
As the community awaits the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, Kerrville Mayor Bill Blackburn urged citizens to visit www.cdc.gov website and to learn more about mitigation efforts and vaccine distribution.
“It is a great source for information, and particularly as these vaccines are rolled out,” Blackburn said. “And in the state, visit the website for the Department of State Health Services is another good resource for us.”
But the most important thing citizens should know, Blackburn said, is that there is hope.
Blackburn said that he feels that some citizens will not want to get a vaccine and provided an analogy regarding his 2010 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, saying that if he is having trouble with it and tells friends about it, they will all have an opinion about how to fix the problem.
“Instead, I will take that pickup to Bobby Balser’s shop on Sidney Baker. He has experienced people that know that vehicle and if they run into a question, they have the data that they need on the computer,” Blackburn said. “So here’s the deal about the vaccines. Behind the major vaccines, there are hundreds of scientists and healthcare professionals. They know stuff and there are steps after steps of testing and approval behind each of the vaccines.”
He said social media is full of negative posts about all topics, including vaccines, but citizens should trust the science behind the vaccine.
“If we are going to open things (economy) up and vaccines are needed,” Blackburn said. “And if people are going to trust going out to local businesses and know it is safe, vaccines are crucial.”
Blackburn reminded citizens that diseases such as polio, measles, rubella, whooping cough, Hepatitis A &B, chicken pox, mumps and others.
“So, follow the president in taking this vaccine for the coronavirus and for the good of us all,” Blackburn said. “Thank you, and I wish you a Merry Christmas.”
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