Audubon County Memorial Hospital and Clinics (ACMH) is currently serving as the COVID-19 vaccination site for Audubon County. Although ACMH has provided vaccination to everyone in Phase 1A that wanted the vaccine, the State of Iowa will not approve further vaccination for Phase 1B groups until the health care workforce in Iowa has reached 60-70% coverage.
Iowans 65 years of age and older, those with underlying medical conditions and certain essential workers are scheduled to begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine some time in February.
Other groups included in the next step of the plan include:
- Correctional facility staff and inmates
- Disabled Iowans and their caregivers.
- Lawmakers, government officials and staff in this priority group, to ensure continuity of government.
- First responders
- School and child care staff.
- Staff and people living in congregate settings such as behavioral health treatment centers.
- Workers at food distribution and manufacturing facilities, including meatpacking plants.
Currently, ACMH does not have any more vaccines on hand to give first doses and have not yet received information from the Iowa Department of Public Health as to when we will get more vaccine. ACMH is required to follow the state’s guidance for priority groups. The vaccine is free to all patients (you will not be charged). Most insurance plans will pay for a COVID-19 vaccine administration fee, so if you are insured please bring your insurance card to your appointment.
ACMH has started a waiting list and will contact people on the waiting list as soon as they are eligible, depending on vaccine availability. If you are over 18 years of age and live in Audubon County or are a current patient of ACMH, you are eligible to be put on ACMH’s waiting list. If you would like to be put on our waiting list, please contact ACMH at 712-563-4611. As soon as ACMH has enough doses to continue vaccinating, ACMH will move quickly to vaccinate as many of our citizens as possible with the amount of vaccine we are given. ACMH will contact you to schedule an appointment when it is your turn according to established priority groups. Once you are notified that you are eligible to receive a vaccine, you must schedule an appointment to receive a vaccine. You may not get a vaccine without an appointment. Walk-ins are not accepted.
Should there be a shortage of vaccines allocated to the state by federal officials, Iowa will prioritize half its vaccine doses to the priority age populations and those with health conditions that put them at risk for severe COVID-19 illness. The remaining half would be prioritized to populations who face high risk of exposure.
The development and distribution of a safe COVID-19 vaccine is an exciting milestone in getting our lives back to normal, and ACMH is committed to making the vaccine available to our community as early as possible. While vaccine supplies remain limited, it is important to continue following all safety measures, including social distancing, handwashing and wearing a mask.
For ongoing information about the COVID-19 vaccination, ACMH encourages everyone to use reliable sources of information including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). Audubon County Memorial Hospital and Clinics will update the community on vaccination status on our Facebook page and in the Audubon County Advocate.