First COVID vaccine clinic comes to Lincoln

Undeterred by a snowstorm, Lincoln senior citizens took advantage of the mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic that came to Lincoln Friday, Feb. 8 for the first dose of the two-dose series Pfizer vaccine.

Lewis and Clark Public Health and PureView Health Center planned and announced the drive through clinic Tuesday, Feb. 2 after the county received its shipment of vaccine and determined they had received enough to provide 100 doses for a clinic in Lincoln.

"It went really well. We did just under 70 people," said PureView Executive Director Jill Steeley.

Held at the Lincoln Fire District property on Stemple Pass Road, the clinic was the first of its kind in Lincoln and was limited to Lewis and Clark County residents over the age of 70, the current Phase 1b, Tier 1 vaccination priority group.

"I think people genuinely wanted it, and were glad we were there," Steeley said, noting that the clinic was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., but people had already started lining up in their cars as early as 4:30 a.m.

The clinic actually got off to a slightly later start than planned. The snowstorm that moved into the area overnight meant slow going for the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Carevan, which was used to deliver the vaccine and other clinic supplies.

"It was smooth once we got going," Steeley said.

Steeley said a second-shot clinic for those who received the vaccine Friday should be scheduled around the end of February. Second doses of the Pfizer vaccine are usually given about 21 days after the first inoculation, although the CDC says there is some wiggle room in the timing.

"I told people we're hoping to be able to contact them directly to let them know when that second dose will be, but also to be on the lookout for the fliers again," Steeley said.

The location for the follow-up clinic and future drive-through clinics for other priority groups still has to be decided. They discovered the Fire District property proved tighter than expected.

"We could barely do it there because of that 15 or 30-minute observation time," Steeley explained. Individuals who get the vaccine must stick around to ensure they don't suffer any immediate side effects. "People have to have somewhere to go and park."

She said they've talked with Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse about other sites, but nothing has been decided yet.

"We were thinking maybe the school would be a better location, especially as we get to the bigger priority groups and there are more people eligible for it," she said.

The drive-through clinic was a joint effort that involved LCPH, PureView, St. Peter's Health and Blue cross/Blue Shield and the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department.

Parker Medical's Family Nurse Practitioner Lana Zobel and nurse Jess Menard were on hand, joined by two volunteer physicians from Helena who came up to help administer the vaccines and two other nurses from Helena who prepared the inoculations.

Steeley and Eric Merchant, the LCPH Disease Control and Prevention Division administrator, joined two Blue Cross/Blue Shield employees in gathering patient information. Lincoln firefighters provided traffic control for the site.