NORWICH – With COVID-19 vaccines becoming more available throughout New York State, the Chenango County Department of Health along with numerous healthcare workers were able to administer nearly 200 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine on Thursday.

According to Chenango County Public Health Preparedness Coordinator Ellen Cohan, this clinic was one of many that the Department of Health has been able to host, and they have been regularly training for a situation like this for years.

“Every year the state requires us to drill various parts of the disaster plan, and this was the first year we were actually able to get people and actually do it the way we’ve been planning it,” said Cohan. “These are all public health staff, and they don’t waste any time getting people through.”

“We try to do it as efficiently as possible, and the single dose method helps with that.”

Cohan said 190 individuals were scheduled to receive the Janssen vaccine on Thursday, and officials hoped that the single dose method would help attract individuals who were less interested in getting two doses.

She said next week the clinic won’t be able to use the Janssen vaccine due to limited supply, and they will swap back to the Moderna vaccine.

“Next week we won’t because the state said our allocation for Jansen is a lot smaller than previous weeks,” she added. “It’s easier to use the Janssen vaccine because we don’t have to send out reminders for people to schedule an appointment for a second shot amongst other reasons.”

Cohan said due to things like limited supply, they try to keep the clinics as flexible as possible.

“We’re pretty flexible, we’ve tried clinics at different times of day, we’ve done morning, middle of the afternoon, and into the evening to try and accommodate people’s schedules so it’s not only one time each week,” said Cohan. “Fortunately we haven’t had any adverse reactions at our clinics, most people have mild flu-like symptoms later on.”

She said after people receive their vaccines, they get a vaccination card which some states are using in place of COVID-19 tests for events. She added that it’s unclear which direction New York State will go in at this point, but it’s worth holding on to the cards either way.

“I know nursing homes still require people to get tested regularly, even after they’ve been vaccinated,” said Cohan.

She said in the meantime, thanks to the efforts of individuals including Steve Fox and Isaiah Sutton, they’ve been able to use the old Label Shopper in the Town of Norwich to administer more clinics.

Chenango County Director of Patient Services Barbara Ryan also spoke about the clinics and said right now more than ever it’s important that residents get the COVID-19 vaccine and show up for all of their appointments.

“I’d like to remind people that it’s important that you get your second dose when it's scheduled, because we get a limited amount of second doses per clinic based on the number of people who got a first dose,” said Ryan. “I know some people are worried about an adverse reaction, but dealing with some normal adverse reactions is well worth getting vaccinated.”

“Cases are starting to go up again, so I would say if anyone is hesitant about getting a vaccine, please call us and ask to talk to a nurse. It’s so important right now, it’s the only way we’re going to overcome this pandemic.”