PAGE – Some people waited around six hours on Friday to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation began inoculating people 65 years and older with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic on Jan. 15.

The vaccination clinic was outside the Warrior Pavilion in Tuba City, where 760 people received the vaccine, providing a glimmer of hope in Western Navajo Nation.

As of Tuesday morning, there have been at least 24,448 COVID cases and 922 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Navajo Department of Health. A total of 65 new cases and three new deaths were reported on Jan. 18.

The next COVID vaccination clinic is on Friday, Feb. 5 at the same location (outside Warrior Pavilion). The clinic will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Patients returning for their second dose must bring their vaccination card that they received at the Jan. 15 clinic.

New vaccine patients can pick up a COVID-19 vaccine form at one of the Western Navajo chapter houses within the Tuba City Service Unit. The form is also available online at tchealth.org where it can be downloaded and printed.

TCRHCC suggests patients should not show up to the vaccine clinic if they have a cough, fever, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, or any other illness. This includes testing positive for COVID-19 within the past three months; in quarantine for a household member with COVID-19; a COVID-19 exposure; have a pending COVID-19 test; and any other vaccinations within the past 14 days.

“There’s a lot of questions and there’s a lot of disease unfortunately, and we want to stop that,” said Dr. Diana Hu, a pediatrician and a member of the Epidemiology Team at TCRHCC. “Remember, no one will be required to get a vaccine––not even healthcare providers, but we are strongly recommending that we get the vaccine because we know this is going to be the quickest way to protect us all from getting more COVID-19 disease.”

This means, Hu says, vaccines are needed to prevent coronavirus disease and to protect persons who are at high risk for complications.

Control measures such as the use of face masks, physical distancing, testing of exposed or symptomatic persons, contact tracing, and isolation have helped limit the transmission. However, vaccines are needed to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19.

“This is how we’re going to protect people from getting the COVID-19 illness,” Hu explained. “It’s going to protect you from getting severely ill of the COVID-19 because both of the vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) have what’s called 95% efficacy against any disease at all, but almost 100%––not quite.

“Ninety-nine percent efficacy against severe illness, meaning hospitalized or ICU illness. That’s really important.”

Hu added that at least 70% of the community needs to either get the COVID-19 vaccine or become immune to get the best protection for the whole community for “herd immunity.”