Bruised Arms and Bruised Egos – They Will Heal

I have never seen people so grateful to feel flu-like before! Those who have been able to get their COVID-19 vaccinations are happy people. They are proud of their bruised arms and temporary achiness. They walk around with their head a little higher, with a little more spring in their step. It is as if a huge weight has been lifted off their shoulders, even though they still need to be safe.

A sore arm and temporary flu-like symptoms are a small price to pay for extraordinarily effective and safe vaccines. It turns out the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are virtually 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Out of more than 30,000 trial participants who received either vaccine, only one person became ill enough from COVID-19 to be hospitalized. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine looks to be equally effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalization. For those who have been reluctant to get vaccinated, this excellent news should be quite reassuring.

We are still in the midst of a severe outbreak in Angelina County. As February began, Texas was seeing a 20% decrease in coronavirus cases. However, Angelina County remains in the midst of an “extraordinarily severe outbreak” and at an “extremely high risk” level. Governor Abbott even surged a Department of Defense team to Lufkin to help with our high rate of hospitalizations. Angelina County has had more than 7,350 cases of coronavirus infection since the pandemic began with225 deaths, more than twice the death rate as Texas. Eighty-one of those deaths have been this year.

Unfortunately, most people have yet to get their first shot. They wonder when that day will come for them. The simple fact is, in order to vaccinate more people, we need more vaccine. Much has been made of the delay in getting Lufkin designated as a hub for coronavirus vaccinations, a designation that allows the state to send vaccine in greater numbers than we have been receiving thus far. Our collective frustration arises from the fact that we consider ourselves a healthcare hub for deep East Texas. We have high standards. We know what we can accomplish when we put our mind to it and work together.

Early vaccination efforts were scattershot based on who got vaccine. Each individual entity that received doses – hospitals, clinics like Urgent Doc, the Angelina County & Cities Health District, pharmacies – barely had the manpower to administer the vaccine they were allocated, much less the large volume needed going forward.

As this paper pointed out in last weekend’s frank editorial, we are frustrated that we weren’t one of the first places to be designated a vaccine hub. The hub designation “delay” clarified that communication and cooperation across organizations is an absolute must going forward. Egos have been bruised, not just vaccinated arms. No single person or organization bears all the blame. Lessons have been learned and it is time to move on.

While we were pointing fingers over the hub designation, we overlooked the fact that we are actually vaccinating people at a faster rate than the state and national averages. As of February 4, the day before Lufkin was designated as a vaccine hub, 8.2% of the US population had received at least one shot. Texas was at 7.2%, embarrassingly behind our neighbors New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Yet, 6,384 people in Angelina County had received at least one dose – 9.46% of the eligible population. Even before hub designation, more than 11,000 doses had been shipped to Angelina County since the start of vaccinations. That’s a good start, and a credit to both hospitals, various pharmacies, Urgent Doc, and the health district. But the demand for vaccine is astronomical. Brookshire Brothers – God bless them! – stopped taking names on their vaccination waiting list when an astounding 130,000-plus people had signed up.

Can we do better? Of course. We must. We need to be vaccinating several thousand a week, every week. A fabulous local volunteer effort, organized by Jane Ainsworth and Patricia Jones, will help Sharon Shaw and the Angelina County & Cities Health District get there. Angelina College is organizing staff and student volunteers and offering student nurses to assist with vaccinations. AC’s Krista Brown and Sarah Alvis will help with website and social media marketing efforts once registration and reporting software has been obtained. The TLL Temple Foundation has stepped up to help with that purchase. Rep. Trent Ashby is making sure the state gets more vaccine allocated to us, now that we have hub designation. The more we know, the more we realize this absolutely was going to require everyone’s support. It takes a village to vaccinate a village!

Still, the public needs ongoing information and reassurance. We expect transparent, timely, and reliable pandemic information. The health district, city and county need a designated pandemic spokesperson whose job it is to share facts and educate the public; otherwise, we will be consumed by rumor and fear. What exactly is “the plan” that got us the hub designation? How many are expected to be vaccinated over what period of time? Who goes when? How do people get on “the list” and have confidence that they won’t be forgotten when their appropriate time comes? What are we doing to assure equitable distribution to Black and Hispanic communities and to those who don’t have access to social media and online registration? Tell us, then tell us again; don’t make us beg for information.

I am grateful a more comprehensive vaccination machine is getting ramped up and ready to go, in the end due to the very cooperation, communication, volunteer spirit and get-it-done attitude that make Lufkin and Angelina County a special place to live. We shine as a city and county when we all work together toward common goals for all our citizens. That’s a #LufkinStrong shot in the arm we all need!