MercyOne partners with Cerro Gordo County to create vaccine waiting list (VIDEO)

MASON CITY — The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health and MercyOne North Iowa have developed a plan for an additional point of distribution for COVID-19 vaccines in Cerro Gordo County. Through the plan, MercyOne North Iowa is utilizing a COVID-19 vaccine interest list where you can sign up and await notification for your opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through MercyOne.

MercyOne Medical Group director Brittany Erickson says they want to start building the list now with the idea that when the vaccine supply increases, CG Public Health will allocate doses to MercyOne North Iowa for those on the waiting list.  “We’ve been working closely with CG Public Health really throughout this entire pandemic. In knowing that they’re receiving quite a bit of vaccine throughout this process that we’re hopeful that at some point the county will be able to receive more vaccines. This partnership is really a preparatory step for us to be able to administer that vaccine to people in the county as quickly as possible as soon as it’s received, if Public Health were to need our assistance.”

Erickson says people can go to the website MercyOne.org/vaccinealert to get placed on the list, and when MercyOne gets vaccine in hand, they will start working from the list.  “We will start top to bottom. We will work within the tiers, so we’ll follow the same guidance that Public Health and IDPH is following, and we will contact people directly to offer that appointment. We will schedule both the primary and booster dose at that time as well.”

Erickson says you’ll be asked some simple questions when you sign up to be placed on the list.  “Name, address, birth date. It does ask which tier you are in, so that’s again how we’re prioritizing patients. Regardless of what tier you fall into, we want your name on the list if you are interested in getting the vaccine. We ask for the county you reside in, which really is just to help us make sure that we’re contacting in the area as well, because this is a list that we’re using all across the state for MercyOne. MercyOne in Des Moines will contact patients from Polk County whereas we would be the ones contacting people within our north Iowa region.”

Erickson says being on the MercyOne list does not prevent you from receiving the vaccine elsewhere, and they strongly encourage you to continue pursuing other options to receive the vaccine including through CG Public Health’s signup.

 

Video of Wednesday’s City of Mason City/Cerro Gordo County COVID-19 press conference