With two drive-thru sites and an appointment system now in place, Hamilton County's COVID-19 vaccination effort is starting to run like a well-oiled machine, workers at one of the sites said Thursday.
Two lines of automobiles snaked around the CARTA Bus Barn off Sholar Avenue - the site where eligible people with appointments through the Hamilton County Health Department go to receive their second dose of vaccine. The cars were there throughout the morning, but none sat idle for long.
The process is similar to a fast-food drive-thru with a check-in station, followed by a place to fill out forms before entering the "bus barn" - a large warehouse where medical providers wait beside two rows of tables ready to inject the vaccine into the arm of whoever's in the next vehicle.
After receiving their dose, patients park in an adjacent lot for about 20 minutes as first responders watch for any adverse reactions before sending people on their way.
It's been five weeks since the Hamilton County Health Department began the monumental undertaking of administering COVID-19 vaccines to the public. Although the incoming supply of vaccines is still extremely limited, eligible people who book an appointment through the county need not worry about waiting for hours in line or doses running out before their turn, said Sharon Goforth, special projects supervisor at the Hamilton County Health Department.
"It's all working very well. We want to make sure everybody understands that we are following the process that we are supposed to follow," Goforth said. "We also want to make sure that they understand we are not going to waste doses of this. To the best of our ability, we will make sure that that does not happen."
Goforth, a registered nurse who's been at the health department for 32 years, said she's worked in more vaccination clinics than she can remember throughout her career. Her current role is to oversee the process of preparing doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine - the two types of COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for use in the United States - based on what's allocated to the health department.
Each vaccine requires its own special storage and handling. They also require that people receive two doses spaced about a month apart to be most effective.
How to sign up for COVID-19 vaccines in Hamilton County
The health department will reopen appointments for first-round doses at 1 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28.People in the eligible phases are encouraged to visit vaccine.hamiltontn.gov and make their appointment online. Those who do not have access to the internet can call the appointment call center for assistance.First dose appointments: 423-209-5398Second dose appointments: 423-209-5399The call center is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Due to high call volume, callers may experience a busy signal and need to hang up and call back.Source: Hamilton County Health Department
On Thursday, Goforth was preparing the Moderna vaccine, which she said is stored frozen and then thawed in a refrigerator overnight once it's set to be administered. Before a person can receive a dose, it must be brought to room temperature and drawn from a vial into 10 different syringes, which each accounting for one dose. Those doses are then placed on a tray and ushered from the makeshift pharmacy in the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority boardroom down to the bus barn to be injected into arms.
Abbe Hildebrandt, a retired registered nurse, is one of between 25 and 50 workers the health department relies on to run each distribution event.
"I've never really directly worked in public health. I've always worked in hospitals, so it's great to be back out here working with the community and working to help get Chattanooga back on its feet," she said.
When patients pull up to her station, Hildebrandt said she checks their paperwork and then sanitizes a spot on their upper arm, where she plans to inject the needle.
"You figure out how deep you want to go, and then you just inject it. You kind of have to gauge it on the size of the person, like some people are really thin, so you can't go too deep," she said.
Deb Sardin, a longtime health department employee who retired in March but came back to help in the pandemic response, said that the most common questions she receives from people getting vaccinated are related to side effects.
"I tell them that there's medical people out there and they're getting paid to do nothing, because we haven't had any issues - reassuring them that everything's OK," Sardin said. "The people, they're just so appreciative when they're coming through."
The health department received an additional shipment of COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday and will reopen appointments for first-round doses at 1 p.m. Friday. Currently, health care workers with direct patient exposure and residents age 75 and older are eligible for vaccination in Hamilton County.
So far, at least 26,000 vaccine doses have been administered in the county - 18,297 first-round doses and 7,703 second-round doses, according to the new Hamilton County COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting dashboard that launched on Thursday. That number includes shots given at other approved sites in the county, such as hospitals.
Contact Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com or follow her on Twitter @ecfite.