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2nd dose injections start Saturday
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Posted on Jan 06 2021
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. will start administering this Saturday, Jan. 9, the second doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to those who have already had their first dose.
CHCC strongly advises those who have already received their first dose not to miss their second dose appointment. “It is very important that you make your appointment and receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Our effort is to achieve community-wide herd immunity and, as researchers of the vaccine have determined, the level of protection increases dramatically after receiving both doses,” said CHCC in a statement.
As of Jan. 4, a total of 3,030 people on Saipan have already gotten their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of that number, a total of 2,629 persons under Phase 1A were inoculated. That includes people in a health care setting, first responders, the homebound population, and the man’amko (65 years and older). In addition, 401 individuals were injected under Phase 1B, which includes government employees, education employees, telecommunications employees, and COVID-19 contractors.
“As a result of an amazing turnout, we have reached the cap of our vaccination openings for this week, ahead of schedule,” said the CHCC statement.
For this week, the COVID-19 vaccination plan will focus on people who are bedridden or homebound due to health conditions. The Office of Aging is putting together this list.
Vaccinations for the first dose under Phase 1A will still continue, and once they’ve reached a set portion of vaccinated individuals in group 1A, that’s when they will open vaccination distribution to group 1B again.
CHCC assured that it will continue to monitor the vaccination distribution numbers, and in order to plan for each phase, they will need to monitor each preceding phase.
In other news, the State of Hawaii has identified CHCC Laboratory as a Trusted Testing Partner for its Pre-Travel Testing Program. Under that program, travelers from the CNMI who are able to provide a state-approved COVID-19 negative test result within 72 hours from the final leg of departure will be able to bypass Hawaii’s mandatory quarantine order, said CHCC.
