MOUNT VERNON – For the last 11 months, Richard Hoffman has been known around the house as “the canary.”
The 80-year-old Apple Valley resident has been charged with running errands during the pandemic. His wife, 77-year-old Sandra, suffers from severe arthritis.
“If somebody needs to go to the store, I go because I can get in and out of the store quicker than my wife can,” Richard said with a smile. “She refers to me as her canary.”
Other than that, however, he’s been confined. Normally an avid outdoorsman, Hoffman’s had to trade golfing, fishing and socializing for sitting at home. He spends his days watching TV or reading on his iPad.
“It is boring for me … I’ve got all my fishing rods ready to go, and it’s gonna be months before I probably can go and do stuff like that,” Hoffman lamented. “But I understand.”
Hoffman’s story is not unique. Senior citizens across the country have had to trade socialization for safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, given the danger the virus poses to older adults. Over 81 percent of America’s COVID-19 deaths have been attributed to citizens age 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All 68 of Knox County’s COVID-19 victims have been age 60 or older, according to Knox Public Health.
“Really, it’s a small price to pay for the protection,” Hoffman said. “You have to be smart about it, as far as I’m concerned.”
But that hasn’t made the process any easier. The isolation has worn on Hoffman, he said, particularly during the winter months. That’s why he – along with hundreds of other local senior citizens – was eager to schedule an appointment once vaccines became available. Hoffman said he and his wife called local distributors repeatedly in January before finally reaching a nurse at Knox Public Health.
Their persistence paid off: Richard secured an appointment on the first day of vaccination for local residents age 80 and older, while Sandra was able to schedule an appointment for the following week. They were among the first in Knox County to be vaccinated in Phase 1B of the state’s rollout, which prioritizes senior citizens, K-12 teachers and staff members, and those with severe congenital, developmental, or early-onset medical disorders.
“Both my wife and I have had surgeries and with our age, you’re in a high-risk group,” Richard said Jan. 20, moments after receiving his first shot at Mount Vernon’s Energy Fieldhouse. “Why take the chance? It just seemed like the smart thing to do.”
This mindset has been common among Knox County residents who have received the vaccine in recent weeks, according to local health officials. There is a sense of urgency involved. Now four weeks into Phase 1B distribution, Knox Public Health is reporting zero wasted doses.
“This is the group that’s been most at-risk. They’re the older group, they’re the ones that have been staying home, their neighbors have been buying their groceries, they haven’t been able to see their loved ones during holidays or during any other time,” KPH spokeswoman Pam Palm explained.
“The majority of people that we have lost in this county from COVID have been 80-and-up, or in their 70s. Even regular people who have passed away, they haven’t been able to go to their funerals or calling hours. I mean, this group has really been affected by it. So it’s really great. They were more than willing to come in, even on a day’s notice, to be able to get in here and to get the shot.”
Still, just 9 percent of Knox County’s population had received the vaccine as of Monday, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Just 11 percent of Ohio has been vaccinated, more than two months after the first shipments arrived in Columbus.
The problem isn’t interest or execution, Palm explained. It’s inventory.
According to Palm, demand is currently outpacing Knox County’s state-allocated vaccine supply by a ratio of four to one. The health department has consolidated its registration list with Knox Community Hospital for efficiency purposes, and Palm said it’s typically four times longer than the number of doses Knox County receives each week.
“I feel like we’re getting four times the requests of the supply that we’re getting. So for every 200 doses we get, there are another 600 to 800 people out there that want it …” Palm said in an interview Feb. 5.
“This coming week, the hospital’s getting 200 doses, we’re getting 200 doses and Kroger’s getting 100. So that’s 500 doses. And on our waitlist alone, on the combined list between the hospital and us, there’s over 2,000 people.”
This has forced local officials to adjust their expectations when it comes to timing. Though new age groups have become eligible to receive the vaccine each week since mid-January, through the state’s tiered distribution approach, local distributors are often unable to accommodate those individuals right away. They’re often stuck playing catch-up, Palm said, given the lack of supply.
“We should’ve opened up to 70-and-up, but we didn’t because we had so many 75-year-olds still on the list,” Palm said Feb. 5. “So next week, we will finish up a handful of 75-plus and then really start into the 70-year-olds. And there’s a couple thousand on that list … We try to go by chronological order, however you called in.”
And there are other factors to consider as well. Knox Public Health will vaccinate K-12 teachers and staff members next week, which Palm anticipates will cut into its supply. Phase 1B individuals will begin receiving second doses this weekend as well.
“I don’t think that we’ll get to the people that are (younger) than 65 until maybe April or so, at least,” Palm said. “I mean, as soon as the governor came out with that 80-and-up, 75-and-up (system), we said, ‘There’s no way we’re gonna be able to do them all in one week’ because we’re not getting the vaccine. But they’re pushing it out as soon as they get it as well.”
After vaccinating frontline healthcare workers, emergency medical personnel, and congregate care residents and staff in Phase 1A, Ohio shifted its focus in January toward senior citizens. Gov. Mike DeWine announced Jan. 7 that Ohio would take a tiered approach to Phase 1B, with residents 80-and-older eligible to receive the vaccine Jan. 18, followed by those 75-and-older (Jan. 25), 70-and-older (Feb. 1) and 65-and-older (Feb. 8).
State data shows Phase 1B may take a while, however, given the limited supply currently provided by the federal government.
As of Monday, 58 percent of those 80-and-older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, followed by 38 percent of those 70-79 and 13 percent of those 60-69. These numbers are nearly identical at the local level; of the estimated 10,000 senior citizens eligible to receive the vaccine in Knox County, only a third have received their first dose.
“We expect Phase 1B to be several months long,” ODH spokeswoman Melanie Amato told the Ohio Capital Journal in January.
Despite the supply-chain barriers, local officials are proud of the vaccination effort so far. There have been 5,650 shots administered in Knox County over the last two months, and 1,679 residents have received both doses.
Approximately 2,000 Knox County residents were vaccinated in Phase 1A, which included frontline healthcare professionals, emergency medical personnel, and residents and staff at congregate care facilities. In the weeks that followed, Knox Public Health, Knox Community Hospital and Kroger have each played a role in Phase 1B distribution.
Knox Public Health has held appointment-only vaccination clinics every week at Energy Fieldhouse, and conducted its first drive-thru vaccine clinic at Cooper Progress Park (the former Siemens Energy campus) on Feb. 5. Nurses have administered dozens of shots to home-bound seniors, who could not drive (or did not have a ride) to the wintertime clinics. KCH and Kroger have administered hundreds of doses in the last four weeks.
“Every dose – everything that we get – we administer. Get it in an arm …” Palm said. “We tell people, it doesn’t make a difference where you get the vaccine – whether it’s from us, the hospital, Kroger, or anybody else – the important thing is that you get the vaccine.”
And while progress is slow, local health officials say each shot is a step in the right direction. The vaccination process has offered hope and positivity, Palm said, after months of struggle.
“The older folks are just so ecstatic about it. They just want to give you a hug, I’m not kidding,” Palm said. “Some people, as you know, were upset with being told they were positive (for COVID-19) and having to isolate or quarantine because they were a close contact. People were upset, and some of them could get a little nasty with us.
“But the phone call to tell somebody that we can schedule an appointment for you is like a gift of gold to them. I mean, it’s just amazing.”
To register to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from Knox Public Health or Knox Community Hospital, click here. To register to receive the vaccine from Kroger, click here.
