People wait after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination at an event for those in the Phase 1B priority group last Friday.
Lincoln will again look to vaccinate thousands of seniors against COVID-19 this week.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said Tuesday that the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department is planning to host mass vaccination clinics on both Friday and Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena for people 75 and older.
Last Friday, the department held a clinic where more than 4,800 people, most 80 and older, received their first vaccinations.
The Health Department also is vaccinating people living at some independent-living centers this week who have not yet gotten their vaccines, and Health Director Pat Lopez said the department hopes to start vaccinating some utilities workers as well as staff at the People’s City Mission.
All told, she said the department will administer more than 8,000 first vaccine doses this week, the most it’s ever done.
Lopez said this week’s vaccination clinics are being split over two days to ensure proper social distancing. The Health Department is in the process of calling eligible people and their spouses to set up appointments.
For the first time, the department is having to contend with an event at the arena the same day as a clinic. The Husker men’s basketball team is scheduled to play Illinois on Friday at 8 p.m., but Lopez said that will not require any adjustment to the vaccination clinic.
She said the department worked with both the Nebraska Athletic Department and the Big Ten Conference and did not have to make any changes.
“They prioritized the need to get our elders in our community vaccinated, so we’re grateful for the strong partnership we’ve had with them,” Lopez said.
Some seniors also could start getting vaccinated at retail pharmacies soon, although details of that plan are still scarce.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that pharmacies participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program should receive initial vaccine shipments by the end of this week.
The state’s allotment is 5,700 doses, but the department is not yet releasing details about how those doses will be allocated. Pharmacies participating in the first round include some Walmart locations, as well as some independent pharmacies.
Walgreens and CVS also are participating in the program, but neither is offering shots in Nebraska.
Walmart on Tuesday said it will start vaccinations Friday at more than a dozen Nebraska locations, all in smaller cities outside of Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island.
In Southeast Nebraska, the shots are being offered at locations in Crete, Fairbury, Nebraska City and York.
Walmart said in a news release that the emphasis is on “locations that reach customers in underserved communities with limited access to health care.”
The vaccines are available to those 65 and older, and people can sign up for an appointment at walmart.com.
Nebraska is scheduled to receive 28,700 first vaccine doses this week, which does not include the 5,700 going to pharmacies.
Gaylor Baird said Lancaster County will continue to receive 4,875 weekly doses for the foreseeable future.
The news on vaccines comes as conditions continue to improve locally. The Health Department on Tuesday moved its COVID-19 risk dial from orange to yellow, the first time it’s been that low since August.
Lopez said weekly case numbers have declined 65% over the past five weeks and the test positivity rate during that time period has dropped from nearly 33% to about 20%.
The county also has gone 12 straight days with fewer than 100 daily cases and has seen hospitalizations drop 60% over the past several weeks. On Tuesday, there were only 42 COVID-19 patients in local hospitals.
The county reported 54 new cases Tuesday, pushing its total to 27,256. The local death toll remained at 209.
“Seeing this progress is very encouraging, and the residents of this community deserve a big thank you for working with our health department to stay well and help keep this virus from spreading,” Lopez said.
She said the department is moving the risk dial into yellow “very cautiously,” but will move forward Friday with adjustments to local coronavirus restrictions.
Under the new directed health measure, gathering limits will increase to 75% of total capacity, with no cap on total attendance. Patrons of restaurants and bars will no longer have to stay seated.
The restrictions also will be loosened on youth sporting events, allowing four spectators per participant, with additional spectators allowed if the venue can show it has the capacity. Concessions also can now be sold at those events.
Despite the drop in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and the relaxing of restrictions, Lopez said there are no plans to reconsider the mask mandate anytime soon.
PHOTOS: LINCOLN’S FIRST VACCINATION CLINIC
Vaccine clinic
A health care professional works to fill syringes with doses of the Moderna vaccine as part of a mass vaccination clinic at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday. “Today’s experience tells us that we are ready to conduct these types of clinics as soon as we can get more vaccine,” said Health Director Pat Lopez.
Vaccine clinic
Brandon Chapek
Vaccine clinic
LINCOLN, NEB. – 01/22/2021 – Health Director Pat Lopez (right) alongside CHI Health VP- Chief Medical Officer Michael Rapp (center) and BMC CEO John Woodrich address members of the press at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The first mass vaccination clinic took place at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The first doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were administered to front line health care workers early Friday morning. “This is what we worked for,” Health Director Pat Lopez said. “We are now moving forward and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star.
Vaccine clinic
Empty syringes wait to be filled with doses of vaccine at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday.
Vaccine clinic
After being vaccinated Jan. 22 at Pinnacle Bank Arena, participants were monitored for side effects for 15 minutes before being released. Nearly 2,400 health care workers received their first dose of vaccine at the event.
Vaccine clinic
LINCOLN, NEB. – 01/22/2021 – Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird speaks to members of the press during a the first mass vaccination clinic at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The first mass vaccination clinic took place at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The first doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were administered to front line health care workers early Friday morning. “This is what we worked for,” Health Director Pat Lopez said. “We are now moving forward and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star.
Vaccine clinic
Health care professionals work to fill syringes with doses of the Moderna vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday.
Vaccine clinic
A nurse administers the first dose of the Moderna vaccine Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Vaccine clinic
Labels will go on cards which show recipients received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Friday.
Vaccine clinic
A nurse administers a Moderna vaccine at Pinnacle Bank Arena, where Lincoln had its first mass vaccination clinic Jan. 22.
Vaccine clinic
A health care volunteer primes a syringe with the Moderna vaccine at Pinnacle Bank Arena during a vaccination clinic Jan. 22.
Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.