Atrium vaccinating those 65 and older

WADESBORO — Vaccinations continue to arrive in Anson County as residents who are 65 years or older may now receive their COVID-19 shot.

Atrium Health Anson started vaccinating employees with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 12 as one of three prioritized rural areas in North Carolina.

Atrium Health announced being one of the first in the Southeast region to receive the Moderna vaccine, pledging to focus on giving this shipment to rural hospitals outside of Charlotte including Stanly, Kings Mountain and Anson.

This shipment of vaccines will be first used for Atrium’s front-line healthcare workers before vaccinating patients or Anson residents.

Jill Lucas and Tracy Osborne were some of the first to receive it at Atrium Health Anson on Jan. 12.

Lucas, director of ancillary and support services, received her first dose and will have her next dose on Feb. 11.

“I was hesitant when they first talked about them originally,” Lucas said. “But as this has all gone and the information has been put out there, hesitancy went away and I didn’t have any reservations about taking it.”

Lucas said the vaccine was no different than getting a flu shot. Other than her arm feeling sore after the shot for a day, Lucas did not feel any other adverse health affects.

Osborne, a certified medical assistant in the surgical medial services, couldn’t sign up fast enough to be vaccinated. She also felt the same soreness after getting her shot.

“I have been feeling great,” Osborne said. “I had a little bit of a sore arm, kind of like the flu shot. Other than that I haven’t had any other problems…Later that day my arm was sore and the next day my arm was sore. But moving it helps.”

Osborne advises to move your arm around to decrease the soreness. By the Thursday after her shot, she had no pain at all.

In the first three days of the vaccine being offered to the front-line staff at Atrium Health Anson, Lucas said 100 doses were given out and about 60% of eligible employees opted to receive the vaccination. Others scheduled their appointments earlier and went to Charlotte to get the Moderna shot.

Both Lucas and Osborne wanted to put their family first when deciding whether or not to be vaccinated.

“I have two children, I have a mom who is over 65, a grandmother who is in her 80’s,” Lucas said. “Basically (I got the vaccine) for my family for the most part and then for my patients. Me being in and out of rooms and taking care of patients, I definitely don’t want to share anything with them. Then lastly, for my own health.”

Osborne listed similar reasons as to why she wanted the vaccine, plus she has a pre-existing condition which already affects her lungs. She couldn’t wait to sign up and receive her COVID-19 vaccine to protect herself and her family.

“I was more scared about getting (COVID-19) than getting the vaccine,” Osborne said. “Even though there is not a whole lot of research on people with autoimmune disorders and getting the vaccine. I knew I could be an advocate for people with autoimmune disorders and see how I’ve reacted and how I’ve done.”

Osborne wanted to be an example for her patients who also have autoimmune disorders. She wanted to show them and let them make their own decisions based on how she felt after receiving the vaccine.

“People need to realize that you don’t have to have an underlying health condition for this thing to be really bad,” Osborne said. “Healthy people are dying from this everyday. I know it’s hard and frustrating…but I have to look at the big picture and think hope is coming. This vaccine is bringing hope.”

People around the globe are showing hesitancy with the vaccines because of how fast it was produced. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention ensures the vaccines being used are safe as both the Pfizer vaccine and Moderna vaccine went through “rigorous studies” and multiple trials to confirm a safe use.

“I think hearing different things in the media has confused some people on (the vaccine),” Lucas said. “When you really do your research, you can tell it is definitely a positive thing.”

When researching, Lucas found out the percent of effectiveness, how long it would last and maintain which helped her get on board with getting vaccinated. She noticed misinformation was put out early on, such as the vaccines inject you with a live virus, but Lucas said that’s not the case.

“It’s going to take all of us working together to get this vaccine and get this under control to get back to normal,” Osborne said.

Osborne wants the chance to see her father again. She has not seen him in close to a year. She wants to see her kids back in school and for the economy to pick back up.

“I pray, that’s it,” Osborne said about how she maintained a strict personal policy of not visiting at-risk loved ones though a long year of being at home. “It was not an option for me to quit work and stay home. Because I do have this autoimmune disorder, I’m just going to take the best precautions I can: wear a mask everywhere I go, wash my hands, stay six feet apart.”

Atrium Health Anson had a meeting with the Anson County Health Department to potentially partner and get more people in the community vaccinated, according to Lucas.

“Right now, it is 65 and older and front-line staff is what the guidelines are currently through the state,” Lucas said. “I think that is rapidly changing. I think we’ll see basically anybody and everybody will be able to start getting it.”

The roll out phases are constantly changing as more vaccines are distributed. The current line for vaccinations at the health department is over 1,000 Ansonians, according to Health Director Fred Thompson.

“While I am thrilled to see eligibility open up to anyone 65 and over, it is critical for the community to understand that the supply of the vaccine is very limited at this time,” Thompson said. “We have over 1,000 Ansonians in the queue to get vaccinated and we are only getting 100 doses of the vaccine next week. We will get everyone schedule and vaccinated as vaccine supplies are made available to us.”

The health department has extra staff manning the phones as residents call to make appointments. Thompson said the department receives hundreds of calls every single day, causing the phone system to crash at times. She said that if you do not get through to an employee, leave a voicemail and someone will call you back as quickly as possible.

Starting on Jan. 19, the health department will be administering the vaccine through the daily drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the EMS base on Country Club Road. This new location will protect the health department staff from weather and make it easier for the EMS to support the clinic.

Working on the front-lines, Osborne said she sees this virus first hand. She hopes as the dim light at the end of the tunnel inches closer, people will stop making this a political debate.

“This virus is real,” Osborne said. “I can’t make you take this virus seriously. All I can tell you is that if you ever do need to take the virus seriously, me, Atrium Health and all my coworkers will be there for you.”

Between Dec. 14 and Jan. 13, 238,344 North Carolina residents received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the NCDHHS website. Nine people in Anson County finished both doses and 348 others are half way done.

“We’re putting it out as fast as we can,” Lucas said. “As fast as the state will allow us and I think Atrium is doing a fabulous job of getting clinics set up and drive-thru clinics and making it safe for everyone to come through and get it.”

The county is working endlessly to meet the demands of receiving a vaccination. The Health Department will continue to inform as new groups are approved for vaccination.