The Washoe County Health District is advising medical professionals in the community who haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine and are part of the Tier 1 COVID-19 vaccine group to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
The Health District has COVID-19 vaccines available for medical personnel included in Tier 1, as determined by the State of Nevada and the federal government. Tier 1 Consists of the Following:
• General medical and surgical hospital staff
• Long term care facility staff
• Psychiatric and substance abuse hospital personnel
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel, including firefighters with EMS credentials
• Laboratory workers
• Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
• Outpatient and home health providers
• Nevada Department of Corrections staff
• Law enforcement and public safety
• Deployed and mission-critical personnel who play essential role in national security
Those who fall into the above categories should coordinate through their organization to schedule a vaccine appointment or contact the Health District to schedule an appointment at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center by emailing COVIDVaccine@washoecounty.us. Email is preferred, but you can also call 775-328-2427 - be advised that high call volume is leading to longer wait times. The positions eligible include administrative and support staff who are in contact with patients.
All eligible personnel must present valid workplace identification, badge or other documentation proving they work for a Tier 1 employer.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) for two COVID-19 vaccines which have been shown to be safe and effective as determined by data from the manufacturers and findings from large clinical trials. These data, put through rigorous examination, demonstrate that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine outweigh the known and potential harms of becoming infected with COVID 19.
** The general public is currently not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and should not contact the Health District or other government entities at this time.
More than 1,500 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered by the Health District in three days via the drive-through method at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center. No adverse reactions have occurred that required medical care. Many more vaccines have been distributed throughout the community at area hospitals and with first responders.
The Health District is working with the State of Nevada to publish the number of vaccines administered in Washoe County and should have that information available soon.
(Washoe County Health District contributed to this report.)
