News stories this week have been highlighting decreasing COVID-19 cases across the region, nation, and world as well as efforts to ramp up vaccinating the public. And while case numbers are currently declining, there are concerns about the spread of more contagious virus strains before people are widely vaccinated.
To fight any complacency, officials have been urging area residents to continue taking steps to stop the spread of the virus and get vaccinated when it’s their turn. They have also been focused on improving the vaccine distribution process. COG continues to support this work by providing its members with a platform to share information through its network of elected officials, health officials, city and county managers, emergency managers, public information officers, food security leaders, and more. This month, COG organized a special webinar series on vaccine distribution and has helped amplify regional messaging on vaccines. COG also continues to track and update reopening changes by area governments and school systems.
Vaccine Update to COG Board
At the COG Board of Directors meeting on February 10, Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles, who serves as COG Health Officials Committee Co-Chair, delivered a briefing on vaccination efforts in the region. He noted the decrease in virus transmission levels but said significant work still needs to be done to protect against the new COVID-19 variants and health concerns related to reopening schools and workplaces. He encouraged the continued use of masks, physical distancing, avoidance of crowds, and other preventative actions.
Dr. Travis Gayles, Co-Chair of the COG Health Officials Committee, told the COG Board that the group will continue to prioritize the equitable distribution of the COVID vaccine and share information with each other on their local efforts.
While pointing out the overarching issue of limited vaccine supply, Gayles said the lack of timely communication within the vaccine distribution chain among different levels of government has contributed to uncertainty and affected local planning efforts. Gayles and board members also discussed logistical and technological challenges in vaccine registration systems. Since the board meeting, efforts have been ongoing to improve these systems. For example, a new registration system launched this week in Virginia and Maryland provided 4-week projections of vaccine doses for local health departments.
As the region begins to expand distribution, Gayles also identified equity as a major focus for area leaders. He stressed that without adequate attention to a fair, equitable framework, the same disparities that pre-dated COVID and have been confirmed during COVID "will further be cemented as we move ahead.” The COG Health Officials Committee will continue to prioritize this issue and share information with each other on their local efforts.
Vaccine Distribution Webinar Series
This month, COG kicked off a webinar series for members and partners on vaccine distribution and dose administration. The short, hour-long Friday sessions examine topics such as different vaccine distribution plans/processes across the country, distribution site types, changing guidance, equitable allocation, and communications strategies.
Upcoming webinars will feature insights on emerging best practices by Dr. Nicole Lurie (February 19), who served as a Former Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response for the Department of Health and Human Services and serves as a Co-Chair for ReOpen DC and Dr. Amesh Adalja (February 26) of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Previous webinars featured Dr. Oscar Alleyene, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and Claire Hannan, Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) (February 5) and Daniel Polsky, Hopkins Business of Health Initiative and John Auerbach, Trust for America’s Health (February 12).
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Regional Messaging
Area public information officers continue to communicate with each other through COG about COVID-19 to better align messaging across borders. In recent months, the group has developed regional messages to complement and amplify local and state communications efforts related to the vaccine—encouraging people to keep taking steps to stop the spread while they wait to be vaccinated and urging them to get vaccinated when it’s their turn.
This work has included a social media toolkit, which has been shared with members and partner organizations, and a joint Spanish radio ad being supported by COG as well as local governments and partner foundations.