POLK COUNTY, IOWA, Iowa — In her Wednesday press conference, Governor Reynolds said that mass vaccination clinics, like the one held at Vermeer in Pella last week, will be key to distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to the general public in the coming months.
Polk County Emergency Management’s DeAnne Sesker says if Polk Co. uses their entire capacity for vaccination providers, they could vaccinate approximately 50,000 Iowans each week. However, it’s hard to say when that could happen.
“The first thing we would need is a plentiful amount of vaccine,” said Sesker. “We know that there isn’t enough to go around, so until then, we can’t justify holding one.”
Still, she said Polk Co. is “actively” planning for a mass vaccination clinic. In the meantime, there’s a lot of logistics to sort through, including finding a location.
“We are looking at locations across the community based on transportation and facility size,” said Sesker. “We are actually conducting what we call ‘field trips’ just to put our eyes on the place and talk to the management.”
Sesker says the county is considering both indoor and outdoor locations--everywhere from Prairie Meadows Casino to the Iowa State Fairgrounds. To make transportation accessible for everyone, they’re strongly considering locations along the DART bus routes.
If the county chooses to host a drive-through vaccine clinic, there are a lot of safety, security, and traffic considerations--much like it took to pull off the Test Iowa state COVID testing sites.
“We have to think about the traffic flow, the incorporation of traffic control, the cones, the law enforcement,” said Sesker.
If they do choose to host a drive-through clinic, Sesker says they will also have an appointment-only walk-up option for Iowans who do not have a car or aren’t able to drive.
Sesker said the clinic will be staffed by Polk County Health Department officials as well as community partners like Des Moines University, whose students would help administer vaccines.
The time frame for execution remains up in the air.
“I wish we had an answer for that,” said Sesker. “Every week brings us new surprises, new challenges, and we face them head-on.”