News

Cuero, Texas: On March 2^nd, Cuero Regional Hospital partnered with DeWitt County Health Department to administer 400 vaccines and, on March 4^th, will administer 500 vaccines for a total of 900 for the week. Both entities received the Moderna vaccine, which is a two-dose series. Those that received their vaccination received a vaccination card with the date and time for their second dose appointment, which will also be held at Cuero Intermediate School, where the first doses were given.

“This was an exceptional partnership between our organizations, as well CISD, area leaders, area law enforcement and volunteers to administer this large number of vaccines in a week. We are thrilled after a long wait to receive these vaccines. Our staff has been working diligently each week on the requests to the State of Texas for the vaccines and we will continue these efforts so we can continue to provide this service to our community,” said Lynn Falcone, CEO of Cuero Health.

Ms. Leona Riedesel of Cuero received her first vaccine on March 2^nd. On March 3^rd, she will celebrate her 100^th birthday and she said she considers the vaccine “an early birthday present.”

Pictured left with Ms. Leona Riedesel are representatives from Cuero Regional Hospital & EMS, DeWitt County Health Department, DeWitt County Emergency Management, as well as her son and daughter, Timothy Riedesel and Gloria Riedesel.

Cuero Regional Hospital was able to utilize both their online vaccine waiting list, with over 4,000 and their phone waiting list, which had over 700, to schedule the appointments. DeWitt County Health Department and CRH worked together to merge their lists, remove duplications and make the hundreds of calls necessary to schedule the appointments.

“It has been a very challenging process. Many that we called had received their vaccine either in Victoria or another area, so it is very time consuming. Once we exhaust the list, we will move to more efficient scheduling platform, similar to what Victoria has done, to relieve our staff and streamline the process,” said Falcone. Those that have not received their vaccine are encouraged to continue to stay informed via area media as well as Cuero Regional Hospital’s website, www.CueroRegionalHospital.org, which is updated daily.

CISD generously allowed the two organizations to hold the mass vaccination at Cuero Intermediate School, as well as providing CISD staff to volunteer at the event. “This location was perfect in terms of traffic flow, parking, patient flow, etc. We were able to have four vaccine stations and vaccinate 60 people per hour. It flowed very smoothly and efficiently. I cannot say enough how very proud I am of the leaders and the volunteers for their work in planning and executing this vaccine clinics,” said Falcone.

Currently, Cuero Regional Hospital and DeWitt County Health Department are vaccinating those that fall in Tier 1A (first responders) and Tier 1B per Texas Health and Human Services criteria:

• People 65 years of age and older Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will be offered to the public, specifically those that fall into Tier 1B
• People 16 years of age and older with at least one chronic medical condition that puts them at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19, such as but not limited to:
• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies
• Solid organ transplantation
• Obesity and severe obesity (body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher)
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Per DSHS, COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Phase 1B Definition Background Mortality and morbidity data collected over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates that COVID-19 has the most severe effects on people who are 65 years and older and individuals with comorbidities. Protecting these higher-risk individuals is of the utmost concern in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Texas death certificate data, more than 70 percent of the deaths directly caused by COVID-19 are among people 65 years and older.

“The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is a great advancement in combating the coronavirus disease,” said Lynn Falcone, CEO of Cuero Health. “We will continue to update the local media, as well as our website and social media channels, as soon as we receive doses of the vaccine for the public.”

For more information, visit www.CueroRegionalHospital.org and follow Cuero Regional Hospital on Facebook for the latest updates on the vaccine.
` #####