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LATEST COVID-19 VACCINE INFORMATION:

UPDATE REGARDING J&J VACCINE: April 13, 2021

LCHD is currently administering booster doses of Moderna vaccine.

We are pausing administration of initial doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccination at this time in coordination with the recommendations from the federal government.
 
As more information becomes available, we will provide updates.
Hopefully, we will know more tomorrow or Thursday.
 
Below is the FDA and CDC joint statement to pause the use of J&J until further notice.
 
The following statement is attributed to Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.
CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.
Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously. People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html.
CDC and FDA will provide additional information and answer questions later today at a media briefing. A recording of that media call will be available on the FDA’s YouTube channel.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.
 
 

COVID-19 VACCINE APPOINTMENTS

Beginning Tuesday, March 30th, we will be moving to Same Day Scheduling Appointments for Initial COVID-19 Vaccinations.

To make a Same Day appointment, please call 606-878-7754 or 606-864-5187 beginning at 8am. It is best to call earlier during the day to ensure appointments are still available.

Please keep in mind that our phone lines can get very busy, so please continue to call back if you are unable to get through. *We are unable to schedule vaccination appointments through our Facebook Page, Website, or Health Department Email account. *

Eligibility for our initial vaccinations (Johnson & Johnson) has expanded to those 18 years of age or older. 

Our office is currently receiving small shipments of COVID-19 vaccines weekly.  

Locally, Baptist Health Corbin is offering vaccines for this group and can be contacted at 606-526-4990 or at https://scheduleyourvaccine.com.  

For a list of other vaccination sites within Laurel County and surrounding counties, click here

There are several other sites statewide that are offering vaccines at this time.  You can view a list of those at this website:  https://govstatus.egov.com/kentucky-vaccine-map. 

 We encourage you to please follow our Facebook Page and website for any updates regarding our distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.  If you do not have access to our Facebook or Website, you may call our office at 606-864-5187.  Please be mindful that we are taking an excessive amount of calls and our phone lines may be busy.

LCHD SERVICES WILL CONTINUE TO BE LIMITED DUE TO COVID-19 VACCINATION CLINICS

Due to COVID-19 Vaccine administration, our normal health department services are limited during this time.

COVID-19 INVESTIGATIONS AND CONTACT TRACING:

Our team will still be conducting COVID-19 case investigations and contact tracing.  You will need to contact the disease investigator working your case at the number they provide to you.  You MAY NOT be able to reach them by contacting the health department direct line. We also MAY NOT be taking general COVID-19 calls during certain hours.  If you are a close contact and are in quarantine, you will need to contact the disease investigator who is working the case of the positive individual you were in contact with.  The positive case should be able to provide you with the name of the disease investigator.

WIC SERVICES:

We will be providing limited WIC services during this time.  We will prioritize providing WIC services for participants who are adding new babies and pregnant women wanting to be added to the program.  We will also provide formula changes (with appropriate documentation) and WIC participants whose benefits have expired and cannot be renewed without an appointment.

You may call our office at 606-864-5187 Ext 221 beginning at 8am during to inquire about WIC services.  Please keep in mind that our phone lines get extremely busy during the day.  If you are unable to get through, please continue to call back.

ALL OTHER CLINIC SERVICES WILL BE SUSPENDED DURING THIS TIME.  

If you are in need of STD Testing & Treatment, you may contact Grace Health Mt. View Clinic at 606-877-2850. If you are unable to find testing and treatment at another location, you may contact our office.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we are working to vaccinate our community with limited capacity.  We will continue to provide updates on COVID-19 vaccinations as we receive additional doses.

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HEALTH DEPT HOURS OF OPERATION:
Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm

During the winter months, any closings or delays will be posted to our Laurel County Health Department Facebook Page.

The Laurel County Health Department provides a late clinic one evening per month during the months of April through October for limited services. The clinic remains open until 6pm during this time. For more information on when late clinics occur, contact the health department at 606-878-7754.

Monday-Friday 8:00am to 9:30am

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8:00am to 9:30am

laurel-county-health-department-building

Reporting Public Health Emergencies After Hours

For public health emergencies occurring outside of normal business hours, please contact the appropriate authorities or seek the necessary medical attention. Law enforcement, local first responders, local hospitals and health care providers have after hours contact information for Health Department staff and will make the necessary contacts.

London Police Dept

606-878-7004

Laurel County Sheriff's office

606-864-6600

Kentucky State Police Post 11

606-878-6622

saint joseph London

606-330-6000

Reportable Disease Notifications

Physicians, hospitals, and laboratories report communicable diseases as required by 902 KAR 2:020 to the Epidemiology unit of the health department. Qualified health department staff persons provide investigation of the cases and report the communicable diseases to the state office which reports to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Medical providers, hospitals, or laboratories who are reporting a communicable disease can download and fill out the Kentucky Reportable Disease (EPID 200) Form.

Reporting COVID-19 Cases

Suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of COVID-19 should be reported to the local health department in the county in which the patient resides. When the county is unknown, cases should be reported to the state health department.  Reporting should be performed using the Kentucky Reportable Disease Form  which should be filled out as accurately and completely as possible and forwarded to the health department within 24 hours of identification.  This is essential for rapid case investigation, contact tracing and exclusion of sick and exposed individuals from the population to reduce the spread of disease and prevent further morbidity and mortality.  COVID-19-related deaths and cases of Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome (PMIS) Potentially Associated with COVID-19 should also be reported. 

During Operating Hours:
Staff can be reached for reporting or for consultation using the information below:

Phone: 606-878-7754
Fax: 606-864-8295

Email (if providing patient identifying information, please make sure email is secure before sending):

Gabriella Hodges,
Regional Epidemiologist 
gabriellak.hodges@ky.gov

Carolee Epperson
Infection Control Nurse caroleeb.epperson@ky.gov

After Hours Reporting:

Kentucky Department for Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Health Planning

Phone: 1-888-973-7678 or 1-502-564-3418
Fax: 1-502-696-3803

*The Kentucky Department for Public Health will contact the local public health authorities regarding after hours reports

 

LCHD Services Brochure:

Download our Services Brochure

Links to Other Resources:

National, State Partners and Links to Resource