For some in Grand Forks County, COVID-19 vaccine could begin to roll out in mid-December – Grand Forks Herald

Debbie Swanson told Grand Forks County Commission members that biotech company Pfizer is awaiting emergency approval of its vaccine, and rival drug-maker Modernas vaccine is not far behind. Vaccinations will roll out in waves, with the first including health care providers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities.

The two vaccines, which Swanson said are about 95% effective, need to be kept in an ultracold environment, which poses certain challenges, but she expects vaccinations will occur within the timeframe that it can be refrigerated.

I think communication is just going to be the key that we know who everybody is, and we can contact them as the vaccine comes to us and we have priority groups that are ready to receive it, Swanson told the commission at its Dec. 1 meeting.

The North Dakota COVID vaccine ethics group will be meeting later in the week to discuss what groups will be included in Phase 2. Swanson said those groups likely will be essential workers, including teachers, law enforcement and firefighters, among others

On a cautious note, Swanson informed the commission there are mild side-effects of the vaccine, including having a sore arm and feeling sick. Health care institutions may need to spread out the vaccine among their workers to avoid having large numbers of similar employees calling in sick the next day.

Cases of coronavirus in the county have been trending down, according to Michael Dulitz, who is doing data analysis for the health department. The percentage of positive tests has fallen to 7.6%, a level not seen since early October.

Also, the doubling effect the time it takes for the number of cases to double has increased to 65 days, which Dulitz said is a positive move. In early November, data indicated there could be as many as 38,000 cases by January, as cases were expected to double every month or so.

I think we can safely say that we are on a downward trajectory right now, Dulitz said.

Dulitz said he doesn't know if a mask mandate is the reason for the decline in positive cases, and that it will take more time to tell. However, he said, wearing masks has caused declines in other states.

Still, while positive cases are slowing, the death rate is not, especially for those over 80. There have been 47 deaths in the county due to the illness, and 15 people have died in the last 17 days. People who were exposed earlier in the pandemic can receive treatment in the hospital for long periods of time before dying.

In other commission news from Tuesday's meeting:

Emergency Manager Kari Goelz reported she found a storage unit for stores of personal protective equipment and other supplies. Those supplies were previously stored in a city-owned building, but needed to be moved because of a renovation project. Goelz said she planted the seed of having the city pay for half, if not all, of the costs incurred to move the supplies.

The county will work with ICON Architectural Group to create a request for proposal, in preparation to solicit public bids for remodeling and COVID mitigation work at the County Office Building, as well as at the States Attorneys Office. Combined, the repairs nearly reach the $200,000 threshold requiring public bids. The repairs will be paid for with federal CARES Act funding given to the county.

Commissioners also selected Cynthia Pic to chair the board for the 2021 session, with Tom Falck being elected vice-chair.

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For some in Grand Forks County, COVID-19 vaccine could begin to roll out in mid-December - Grand Forks Herald