Hospital: Vaccine demand slows, but calls keep coming

The demand for COVID-19 vaccinations has slowed, but the phone still is ringing at Franklin Foundation Hospital.
As of Monday afternoon, the hospital has administered about 5,000 vaccine doses and around 2,500 first doses. All of the hospital’s vaccines have been Pfizer-BioNTech, according to Kevin Romero, the hospital’s marketing/business development and co-director of physician services.
Romero said he thought the Louisiana National Guard doing more public sites and the availability at pharmacies, too, has contributed to less demand at hospitals.
“We feel it’s going to be pushed into the physician offices probably soon and pharmacies. Pharmacies all over are giving them. We’re still doing them, but we don’t know where the future lies with us.”
He said as they have needed supply, it has been delivered.
“We have had no issues with supplies,” he said.
As for the hospitals’ employees, the number of those vaccinated has improved, too.
“We’re easily above 65%, probably, employees that are vaccinated,” he said.
As of Monday’s update from the Louisiana Department of Health, the state crossed the 2 million mark of doses administered. Of that total, about 1.27 million vaccine series have been initiated and 834,087 vaccine series have been completed.
In St. Mary Parish, 14.53% of the population has been vaccinated.
The parish has initiated 11,133 vaccine series, and it has completed 7,515 series, according to the state Department of Health.
Of that number, less than 10% of the population in the ages 18-29, 30-39 and 40-49 groups have been vaccinated.
Romero said the older generation that was in the first group of those offered the vaccine is more likely to take the vaccine without any skepticism because of taking previous vaccines such as for polio and chicken pox.
“I think this generation, this younger than 50 generation, kind of questions everything a little bit more than the older generation,” he said.
Breaking it down by race, 60.25% of the vaccinations in St. Mary Parish were administered to white people, while 31.23% of the shots went to African Americans.
Dr. Gary Wiltz, CEO of Teche Action Clinic, said in a recent KBZE 105.9 FM Facebook recording that his clinics have given 5,196 vaccinations as of March 29, mostly in St. Mary Parish.
Of that number, he said that 40% of those vaccinated have been African Americans.
“We’re very pleased with that group because that was the targeted group.”
Romero said people have different reasons for getting it, such as visiting their grandparents or grandchildren or to travel.
The parish is in Region 3, which has had a 15.91% vaccination rate. That percentage ranks sixth among the state’s nine regions. Region 1, the New Orleans area, leads the state with 22.03% of its population vaccinated.
According to a March 30 Kaiser Health News article, a recent poll is showing that more Americans are becoming convinced to get the vaccine. Of that group, nearly 55% of African American adults said they either had or planned to become vaccinated.
That’s an increase of 14% from a poll taken a month prior. In that same poll, 64% of the white population responded the same as did 61% of the Hispanic population.
Still, 13% of those questioned in the survey said they would “definitely not” receive the vaccine.
For others, it just will take some time for some people to be comfortable getting it, according to Romero.
Attempts to reach an Ochsner St. Mary representative for comment were not successful.