Health Department Discusses Vaccination Clinic Procedures
ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Each fall, the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department holds their annual Flu and Covid Vaccination Clinic at the fairgrounds.
However this year, the event has been cancelled due to internal conflicts that are taking place inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is the governmental agency that sets the policy for how the vaccinations should be administered. Health Department Medical Director Dr. Jack Butterfield shared some of the local measures that are being taken to help promote public health in the absence of federal oversight.
“This year, we have unfortunately had to cancel our drive-thru Flu and Covid Vaccine Clinic,” Butterfield said. “And this is basically due to circumstances beyond our control this year. We definitely believe in the value of the Covid and Flu vaccine and we think that they’re vital for the health and well being of our community. The FDA has approved a new vaccine for the 25-26 calendar year. However the FDA’s approval is only for people over 65 and if you’re between 5 and 65 only if you have certain medical conditions.”
On top of waiting for CDC recommendations, not having medical records readily available, pharmacies and medical providers offering vaccinations, which cost money that insurance companies may not cover if you do not fall under a CDC recommended category for eligibility, All present problems for offering a quick one stop service.
“On October 16th, which was the date we were to have our drive-thru. We are going to try to have a major event here at the health department providing these vaccines. In this setting, we can get more information from patients and hopefully we will have guidelines from the CDC. If we don’t, we should at least have a better idea of what we need to do in order to get the Covid vaccine to as many people as can qualify,” Butterfield said.
Not only will the health department have their onsite event but they will also be offering a mobile vaccination service that will travel around the county to various library and fire department locations.
For more information about getting your Flu and Covid vaccines, you can visit the health department’s website.
