Health department answers 20 vaccination questions from St. Clair County residents

Viewers of Sunday’s livestreamed COVID-19 briefing on the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Facebook page had a long list of vaccine-related questions for Myla Blandford, deputy director of the St. Clair County Health Department.

Here are her answers:

Question No. 1: What percentage of people need to be vaccinated to stop the coronavirus pandemic and achieve herd immunity?

Answer: “The simple answer is, ‘We don’t know.’” Experts have thrown out the figures of 70%, 80% and 90%, but it will take more research to determine how vaccinations are affecting the overall population and how much people are being protected by vaccines versus their own natural immunities.

Question No. 2: On Feb. 25, will you be making vaccines available to the updated group 1B, tier 2, which includes those with underlying health conditions?

Answer: “Yes, that’s the plan, or maybe (it will happen) even before then. It depends. When we start to see a lull in our appointments being taken up, that’s usually a signal to us that we can move groups in concert with the state guidelines.”

Question No. 3: If I’m in group 1B, and I have to cancel my vaccination appointment, will I be able to schedule another one in a month or so?

Answer: “I would encourage you to call the (St. Clair County vaccine information line). We now have the call center open seven days a week. The number is 618-825-4447. They can assist you.”

Question No. 4: How long before you’re due for a second dose of the vaccine will you be notified that it’s time to schedule the appointment?

Answer: “Wherever you receive your first dose, we encourage you to go back to (the same location) to get your second dose.” If it’s done through the health department, people will get reminders and instructions for making appointments two to three days in advance.

Question No. 5: I received notification for my second shot, but I mistakenly booked an appointment before the three-week waiting period was over. I canceled the appointment and re-signed up on the portal. Will I be recontacted to book at the right time?

Answer: “If you received your first dose from the health department, you should receive a notice a few days prior for your second dose. If not, you can call the 825-4447 number.”

Question No. 6: What is the difference between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in terms of the waiting period between doses?

Answer: “When you received your first dose ... you should have received a CDC reminder card (showing) whether you received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. For Pfizer, it’s a 21-day wait before your second dose, and for Moderna, it’s a 28-day wait.”

Question No. 7: My husband will be on antibiotics after a dental procedure when it’s time for his second vaccine dose. Is that a problem? Can he still get the shot?

Answer: “It’s not a problem. He can still receive the second dose, as long as he’s not ill at that time.”

Question No. 8: After I have a time verified for my second dose, will I get a text message with a QR code like I did the first time?

Answer: “The process is the same.” A person waiting for a second vaccine dose will receive an email with a link to a form used to register for an appointment. After hitting “submit,” the person should get a text message with a link to a QR code.

Question No. 9: As I understand it, effective Feb. 25, residents ages 16 to 64 with medical conditions will be able to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Do they need to present proof of those conditions?

Answer: “When you go through our registration process, there’s a series of questions that you (will answer) to self-certify your underlying health conditions.” No other proof is required.

Question No. 10: I’m due for my second dose, but I heard there might be a delay. Is the county running on schedule or is there a shortage of vaccine?

Answer: Shots are administered as vaccine supplies become available to the county. “We don’t hold second doses back. The state is supposed to be scheduling and sending those (doses), and today we’re not having any issues with that.”

Question No. 11: My daughter is 38 and has an autoimmune thyroid disease. When she gets sick, she gets really sick. What vaccination group would she fall into?

Answer: The current state vaccination plan doesn’t address autoimmunity. “(It is) the 6.0 version, and I believe the St. Clair County EMA has it on their web page. I would encourage you to look at the bottom of page 15 for the definition of disabilities, and if (your daughter isn’t eligible), she would have to wait out her time for her age group.”

Question No. 12: How do college students get vaccinated if they’re in group 1B, tier 2, specifically if they’re attending a school out of state?

Answer: “If that individual is coming home, they would be eligible in our county once we make that move. Otherwise, if they’re staying at the school in the other state, I would have them refer back to whatever the local policies are for their vaccination programs.”

Question No. 13: Why are people over 65 from other counties being vaccinated in St. Clair County when we are over 65 and live in the county, and we haven’t been notified about making an appointment? It doesn’t seem fair.

Answer: “If you’re over 65 and (in the county’s vaccination-notification system), you should have received information on how to register. If that’s not the case, then go ahead and call the 825-4447 number, and they will be able to assist you.”

Question No. 14: Is it true that once you’ve had COVID-19 and receive the vaccine, you are no longer able to donate plasma to current patients?

Answer: “You can’t donate convalescent plasma, and the different donation centers out there, like the American Red Cross, have information on their websites about that.”

Question No. 15: I got my first vaccine shot on Feb. 8. Will I get my second one before March 1? I’m going to Mexico on March 2 for 15 days.

Answer: “It depends on which vaccine that you received, but you should be receiving (a notification about making an appointment).”

St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern clarified that the person may not be totally protected from COVID-19 if they travel to Mexico under these circumstances. “It takes a period of time before the second dose gives you immunity.”

Question No. 16: Why aren’t hairstylists included in early vaccinations?

Answer: “Those guidelines are dictated by the federal and state governments. ... As we move through the phases, every so often, they release new versions of the state’s (vaccination) plan. So again, refer back to that. Right now, we’re at 6.0. We would expect in the coming weeks to have another version.”

Question No. 17: I’ve read that vaccination sites are supposed to have an antidote on hand in case someone has a reaction. What is the antidote? I’ve also read that people have died from vaccine shots. How many in Illinois or St. Clair County have had reactions that required trips to the hospital?

Answer: “The paramedics use a combination that can either be Benadryl or epinephrine, which is similar to the EpiPen ... I talked to some of the EMS locally, and to date, to their knowledge, we’ve not had anybody who needed to be administered that medication or be taken to the hospital.”

Clarification from Kern: “You have to wait 15 minutes to be monitored (after being vaccinated), and there’s an ambulance there just in case there would be a reaction. But so far, it’s been pretty smooth and pretty rare that anybody feels something when they get that shot.”

Question No. 18: I have signed up a dozen times for a vaccination appointment. Why have I not received a code to get my shot? I’m 70 years old and a thyroid-cancer survivor, and I have other health issues.

Answer: “You should have received a code by this point in time. ... You could check your (email spam folder), but I would go to the 825-4447 number for assistance.”

Question No. 19: Once senior-living-facility residents have received both vaccine doses, when will they be allowed to have family visit in person?

Answer: “(The Illinois Department of Public Health) sets those guidelines. I would refer you back to them and back to the facility to see what their internal protocols are as well.”

Question No. 20: We know people with expired IDs or no IDs. I imagine there could be many people like this. Would these individuals be left out from getting vaccinated?

Answer: “No, if you have an expired ID, you can bring that and a current piece of mail. What we’re looking for is to verify that you’re an Illinois resident or you at least work in St. Clair County.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.