Atlantic, IA —On Monday, December 21, Cass County Public Health received 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine. This vaccine will be used in accordance with Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidance to begin vaccinating phase 1A healthcare personnel.

“While we were not expecting our shipment until a little later in this week, we were very happy to have the vaccine in our hands yesterday,” said Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen. “Thanks to great partnerships and planning, I’m also pleased to announce that we were able to start vaccinating frontline healthcare workers today.”

The 500 doses that are now in Cass County are specifically for other healthcare personnel. These parameters are set by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), and includes the following workers:

• Healthcare personnel (HCP) with direct or indirect patient contact.
• Health care personnel are defined as paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials.

“The largest healthcare provider in the county is Cass County Health System, and many of the doses are allocated for their staff members,” said Olsen. “However, we know that there are still healthcare workers in the county who are eligible to receive the vaccine at this time. We need those community members to take a brief survey so that we can schedule their vaccination through Cass County Public Health.”

Examples of jobs that would qualify for vaccination at this time include, but are not limited to:
• Critical care
• Emergency Department
• Infectious Disease
• Hospitalists
• Primary Care
• Anesthesia
• Respiratory Therapy
• Emergency Medical Services
• Phlebotomy
• Pharmacy
• Radiology
• Federally Qualified Health Center
• COVID-19 Vaccinators of Essential Populations
• COVID-19 Specimen collectors
• Staff/physicians of urgent care centers
• Acute care clinic
• Clinical laboratory
• Hospice
• Home health
• Physical Therapy
• Rehabilitation

“If there are Cass County residents who work in these areas, and they want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, they should take the survey on casshealth.org/covid-19 as soon as possible so that we can administer their first dose within 30 days,” said Olsen.

No Public Vaccine Yet

It may be several weeks or months before the vaccine is readily available for the public. There is currently no waiting list or sign-up for the public.

“Just today Governor Reynolds introduced the next phases of vaccination, which may include groups like law enforcement, teachers, and elderly adults. As we receive more direction from IDPH, and as we find out more about our future shipments of vaccine, we will continue to communicate with Cass County residents about vaccine availability,” said Olsen.