Bartholomew County is purchasing a laboratory freezer to prepare for the arrival of COVID-19 vaccine, but county officials say the vaccine may not be available to the general public here until late May to early June.
Bartholomew County Emergency Management Director Shannan Hinton and county health Nursing Division Director Amanda Organist said nobody knows how many doses, if any, the community will receive in the coming months.
Hinton reminded county officials Monday that the federal government has not yet given any vaccine a green light for widespread use.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee won’t meet until Dec. 10 to review the clinical trial data regarding the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in public, which could precede rapid approval. Other pharmaceutical companies such as Moderna will also need FDA approval to distribute vaccines.
When distributed, the first doses for Indiana will be distributed to five separate facilities in Indiana, so they can be administered to health care workers who take care of COVID-19 patients, Organist said.
Columbus Regional Hospital will be one of the first facilities to receive doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Hinton said. Next in line will likely be health care workers in nursing homes who will get their shots during the first quarter of next year, she said.
The $14,090 laboratory freezer for the health department is being purchased from Helmer Scientific in Noblesville. It will likely be two to three months before the new freezer arrives, Hinton said.
High demand is likely a key reason why Helmer was the only company who submitted a bid for the freezer, commissioners’ Chairman Carl Lienhoop said.
“Most of these companies are likely swamped because every county needs the same equipment at the same time,” Lienhoop said.
The freezer will maintain vaccines at between -15 to -30 Fahrenheit, and has alarms, safety settings and backup power, county Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said.
The county anticipates the cost of purchasing the freezer will be reimbursed through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Kleinhenz said.
