FORBES FIELD ANG BASE, Kan. -- Since January, the 190th Medical Group has vaccinated over 1,000 Kansas National Guard Airmen, Soldiers and Department of Defense civilians.
When the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Moderna arrived on December 23, 2020, the 190th MDG and Kansas Army National Guard personnel had only three business days to plan for the first vaccination event on January 4-6.
The MDG had to identify areas that needed to be manned, such as registration, clinician screening and recovery zones prior to the beginning of January, as well as acquiring supplies that had previously been on backorder.
“Over the holiday break more than a hundred man-hours were spent insuring we had adequate staffing to support all aspects of the vaccine event,” said Capt. Ana Tavares, health services administrator.
Due to the high demand for vaccinations at a quick turnaround rate, the MDG had to quickly adapt and change processes that allowed them to meet the maximum amount of patients they could vaccinate in just a few days.
“As we have refined our processes we have increased the number of personnel we are able to vaccinate to approximately 250 per day during recent events,” she added.
There have been three separate events where personnel received their first and second doses of the vaccine. Between January and February, approximately 600 doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered. Over the drill weekend in March, another 400 doses were given.
The 190th MGD was the first Kansas Guard unit to host a vaccine event and laid the foundation for events that other Kansas Army and Air Guard units have hosted.
“These events have allowed us the opportunity to create the framework in which to model future events, and have also identified lessons learned. As the 190th was the first to host a vaccine event, medical personnel from the 184th Wing and Kansas Army National Guard have been present to observe our processes prior to holding their events.”
The initial rollout of the COVID vaccine has allowed the MDG to test the limits of their traditional immunization staffing model as well as physical space limitations within the clinic.
“The single greatest challenge we have encountered is scheduling dose two for service members,” Tavares said. “Ideally, dose two should be administered 24-43 days after dose one. With many members commuting for RSD, going on short notice TDYs/schools, or in quarantine, instances have presented in which that timeline cannot always be met and the vaccine is administered at the next available opportunity.”
Though it is recommended to members to get the second dose within the 24-43 day timeline there are no health risks to the individual.