UnityPoint Health – Fort Dodge to Begin Vaccinating Tier 1B Patients Friday

Webster County Department of Public Health has notified UnityPoint Health – Fort Dodge that we may begin to vaccinate community members, using vaccines that were not utilized for Phase 1A (healthcare workers). UnityPoint Health will begin vaccinating priority populations 65 years and older, starting Friday, January 29, 2021, using this remaining supply from Phase 1A.

UnityPoint Health will notify patients via phone, direct mail and/or through MyUnityPoint, our online patient portal, when vaccine is available for them to schedule an appointment.

At this time, we will be administering Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. This vaccine does require two doses. The Federal Government is managing the vaccine distribution, with state public health departments determining the number of doses available to health care systems and other priority groups in each state. If you are eligible based off your place of employment or occupation, we encourage you to closely monitor communication from your local public health department.

As soon as the vaccine is made available to additional populations, we will partner with public health to notify individuals. Please note that at this time community members can’t sign up for the vaccine in advance with UnityPoint Health.

“We are asking community members to be patient as we roll out the COVID vaccine to our community. We know people are excited and want to get the vaccine as soon as possible, and we too want to get as many people vaccinated as we can,” adds Glasgo. “However, vaccine supplies are limited. We are quickly scheduling appointments based on the allocation of vaccines we receive from Webster County Public Health.”

As supplies increase over time, all adults who choose to receive the vaccine should be able to get vaccinated later in 2021. However, a COVID-19 vaccine may not be available for young children until more studies are completed.

Although significant progress continues in the development and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, it’s important to practice COVID-19 safety measures for the foreseeable future. Even after a person is vaccinated, they should continue to stay home when sick, wear a mask and social distance.

For more COVID-19 resources and information, including where to go for care, visit unitypoint.org.