Douglas County health officials make way through COVID-19 vaccination list

Reporting 8 new cases.

It's been a busy week for public health officials in douglas county... as they continue to distirbute both coronavirus vaccines to people at the top of their priority list.

Kezi 9 news reporter evita garza shows us what it will take to hopefully get back to normal.

Slowly but surely, the first doses of the covid-19 vaccine in douglas county are being distrubuted& and public health officer bob dannenhoffer says he couldn be more excited.

Phoner:?there is light at the end of the tunnel, but that why this is the time to redouble out efforts?

Right now& he says the priorty is healthcare workers.

The roseburg v- a started distributing the moderna vaccine wednesday& while mercy medical center started distributing the pfizer vaccine last week.

Hospital staff say they have vaccinated 173 mercy employees so far.

Phoner:?hospital workers are very high risk.

Those people work in the icu, they work in the er department, they are really getting a lot of exposure?

Dannenhoffer says they need at least 60-70 percent of the population in each county to get vaccinated in order to get back to normal.

Out of 110 thousand people in douglas county& that about 80 thousand.

Phoner:?all the vaccines require two doses, so 160 thousand doses?

00:58 evita: if everything goes according to plan, dannenhoffer says they want to have all of douglas county vaccinated by this summer.

But he says health care workers and the elderly are the priority?

That includes assisted care facilities& like riverview terrace.

Executive director patty koch says theye still unsure when their first shipment will come or how many doses theyl get& but she says their more than prepared.

Phoner:?it will provide that level of safety to our residents.

Wee so excited to be able to protect them from the virus?

Dannenhoffer says the goal is to get healthcare workers and the elderly vaccinated by the end of january& and everyone else will follow.

Reporting in roseburg evita