BY KAREN BOSSICK

How will you know when you’re in line to get the COVID vaccine?

South Central Public Health District has set up a vaccine website on which Wood River Valley residents and others living in the district’s area of jurisdiction can sign up to know when the vaccine is available for them.

The website is https://www.phd5.idaho.gov/covid-vaccine/ Either go to the option “Sign up to know when vaccine is available” (that site is currently being revamped), or go to the link for the sign-up at https://forms.gle/XxziJpMePmQqSAF6A

Registering will NOT sign you up for the vaccine. But it will provide health district officials a readily available contact so they can let you know when you may qualify for vaccines.

Information regarding the signup will also be distributed via the SCPHD website, news media, social media and community leaders.

The website cautions that it may take several months to qualify for a vaccine since the United States has a very limited supply.

And, no, you should not expect to have to camp out overnight in lawn chairs to get vaccinated, as we have seen Florida’s seniors doing. That defeats the purpose of trying to distance people to avoid spreading the virus, said Brianna Bodily, public information officer for SCPHD.

“We definitely don't want people lining up en masse,” she said. “Idaho is working with a new program to help schedule appointments so we can avoid crowding and the chance of spread while waiting for a vaccine. After all, vaccines take several weeks to build antibodies, so people won't have full protection from the vaccine until up to two weeks after their second dose.”

Currently, Bodily said, SCPHD is trying to limit chaos by taking vaccinations from facility to facility. This keeps the vaccine clinics small, orderly and prevents wasted doses.

“I don't anticipate ever having the need to ask people to line up, but it may require extra patience from our residents as we work as quickly as possible to vaccinate everyone safely,” she said. 

Southeastern Idaho Public Health District, which covers Pocatello and other towns, also has a signup but with slightly different information requested from those signing up and with different information concerning the plan for vaccinations.

The website says that as more vaccine becomes available the district will employ public health nurse “strike teams” to vaccinate priority groups, schedule appointments for vaccinations, hold walk-in clinics for vaccinations and hold drive-through mass vaccination clinics.

The SCPHD list is limited to health care workers and essential workers, such as teachers, food processing workers and Idaho National Guard. But the Southeastern Idaho Public Health District list includes adults 75 years of age or older, adults 65 years of age or older and people aged 16-64 with medical conditions that increase risk of severe COVID-19.