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Thread: How the @CityofAmarillo Opened the Most Efficient #COVID-19 Mass-Vaccination Clinic in the Country. (1/12)
#Coronavirus #vaccine
#Coronavirus #vaccine
In less than a week, @CityofAmarillo Public Health has vaccinated over 9,000 front-line workers and community members over the age of 65 (or 18-65 with chronic health conditions). We’ve done it quickly and efficiently, providing a model for other vaccination centers. How? (2/12)
From the moment you enter, we provide wheelchairs, water bottles, staff assistance, and chairs throughout the line for people to rest. (3/12)
We post social distancing reminders throughout the center, as well as hand sanitizer, gloves, and masks. Frequent overhead announcements remind people to wear a mask, stay 6’ apart, wash their hands, etc. (4/12)
We utilize nearly the entire Amarillo Civic Center Complex for this clinic. We've set up over 2,300 linear feet (more than ½ mile) of indoor line space to keep people out of the weather and in the warmth. Our total capacity for indoor waiting is nearly 1,200 people. (5/12)
Our COVID-19 Data Center (reports vaccines to the state, manages contact tracing, etc) is also in the Civic Center, so our operations are uniquely efficient. We walk our reports across a hallway rather than fax/email/etc. (6/12)
We transitioned City staff from where there is less demand (libraries, parks, etc) to assist Public Health, and stationed them throughout the line. They hand out forms, answer questions, help direct people, push wheelchairs, hand out water, move chairs, monitor lines, etc. (7/12)
All of our waiting space is socially distanced. Multiple medical professionals work to verify information and move patients into the next phase. This room holds about 300 people. Average wait time for a vaccine once you enter this point? 12 minutes. (8/12)
All those yellow gowns are nurses. Our vaccination room has 30 vaccination booths. The nurses line up, accept a patient, vaccinate the patient, then get back in line to accept another patient. This process allows us the capacity to vaccinate around 400 people PER HOUR. (9/12)
We monitor recovery for 15-30 minutes. Our recovery room holds around 150 socially-distanced people and is staffed by medical professionals. The room also has separate clinical space in case anyone needs medical support for any reason. (10/12)
No coffee. No magazines in the waiting areas. But our process is designed to put vaccines into arms as rapidly and safely as possible. So, while the national narrative might be vaccine failure, just know that here in #Amarillo, the process is SAFE, EFFICIENT, and WORKING. (11/12)
This is a rapidly evolving response that is closely coordinated with @TexasDSHS and @GovAbbott as well as many others. BEST BET: visit http://www.amarilloalerts.com for more information. (12/12)
