Tioga County reveals COVID-19 Vaccination Plan

Tioga County Public Health has started to receive an influx of phone calls and Facebook messages requesting information regarding the plan for vaccinating the county against COVID-19. The department is currently working towards finalizing the plan, while working with several partners throughout the county.  

The Vaccine Planning Committee includes representation from the Tioga County Legislature, Tioga County Office of Emergency Services, Waverly Police Department, Social Services, School District Superintendents, and Public Health.  

Tioga County’s Vaccination Plan follows the New York State Department of Health and the Governor’s distribution priority list, which is broken down into multiple phases. 

Phase 1 includes health care workers, long-term care facility workers and patients. 

Phase 2 includes first responders (fire, police, national guard), school staff, childcare providers, and public health workers, essential frontline workers that regularly interact with the public, and high-risk individuals in the public.  

Phase 3 includes individuals over 65, and individuals under 65 with high-risk co-morbidities and health conditions.

Phase 4 includes all other essential workers.

Phase 5 includes healthy adults and children. 

For additional information on the phases, as well as New York State’s Vaccination plan, visit https://forward.ny.gov/covid-19-vaccine-distribution.

The county has existing Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s) with locations throughout the county to serve as Points of Dispensing (PODs) to vaccinate individuals; however, they are identifying additional potential locations in order to best serve the community. 

Currently, New York State of Department of Health (NYSDOH) has not released information regarding timeline, amount of vaccine, or other information. 

“This is a fluid situation; things are progressing rapidly, and new information is constantly coming out,” says Katie Wait, Public Health Preparedness and Vaccine Initiative coordinator. 

She added, “We know that our community has many questions, and wants to know what will be taking place so they can prepare. Please be patient with us as we work through this together.”