A Shot at History
College of Nursing alumna Alex Jones leads efforts to vaccinate neighbors against COVID-19
by Susan Neale
Alexandria (Alex) Jones, MS, RN, CPH, ('07, '10 MS) has a big job to do.
Franklin County has two public health departments that serve the 1.3 million residents in their jurisdiction. Columbus Public Health serves Columbus and Worthington, while Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) serves approximately 475,000 people in the surrounding suburban area made up of cities, villages and townships. FCPH’s Division of Prevention and Wellness was already in charge of immunization services, infectious disease control and also maternal and child health for this area when the pandemic presented new challenges such as large scale contract tracing and mass vaccination. Jones serves as director of the Division of Prevention and Wellness for FCPH, and while she describes that leadership role as her “day job,” she is now also running the department’s Point of Distribution (POD) for the COVID-19 vaccine.
What it’s like at the POD
Getting vaccinated at the Franklin Country POD is quick, safe and easy. “Probably from door to being vaccinated, it takes six-and-a-half to seven minutes,” Jones said. To ensure that a dose will be available, appointment times are scheduled online, and people receive paperwork to fill out before they arrive. At the POD, they go through “griage” – a combination of greeting, registration and a quick screening triage with a healthcare provider. After vaccination, people are required to stay for a 15-minute observation period to make sure there are no adverse reactions. The POD’s swift timing and smooth operation allow about 100 people to pass through in an hour, all while staying safe and physically-distanced. Staff and volunteers on-site follow safety protocols including wearing masks and sanitizing all surfaces, including tables and chairs.
“We have a really great team here,” Jones said. “We have about 20 of our staff plus 30 volunteers on-site every day running POD clinic sites as part of the large-standing POD effort.”
There have been character-builders to vaccine administration, including the state of Ohio receiving fewer vaccines than anticipated and a formidable data entry component that can slow down operations. The federal government has a 24-hour data reporting requirement. However, “The state’s immunization registry, ImpactSIIS, is not set up to be a mass vaccine electronic health record (EHR),” Jones said, so a team of seven staff members had to enter data manually until a mass vaccination electronic scheduling and clinical documentation system could be implemented in February.
An element of trust
“With vaccination it’s critical to think about communities of color that have been historically marginalized," Jones said. “We’re seeing a disparate impact to our communities of color with COVID-19.” To counter distrust of vaccines and public health initiatives in general, Jones stressed the importance of healthcare workers and other trusted messengers telling their stories. “We who have been vaccinated need to tell our side effects. I talk about my sore arm and I had a headache after my first dose. We need to be very transparent and upfront about what people can expect.”
Feeling well-prepared
“Local public health has been training for this and preparing for this for decades,” Jones said, pointing out that Franklin County Public Health recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary: It was established in 1918 to fight the flu epidemic. While infectious disease prevention has always been part of FCPH, preparations for emergency response and medication prophylaxis including mass vaccinations intensified after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“The model we used [for mass vaccination] was based on a response to anthrax,” Jones said, although that model involved distributing pills instead of shots. “We actually practice our POD operations on an annual basis. We did flu vaccinations prior to COVID-19 so that we can actually test this model and have staff trained and ready to go in times like this.”
Jones credits the education she received at the College of Nursing, including her Master’s in Public Health Nursing (dual Public Health/Nursing Administration) with preparing her well for her career.
“I always brag and say I’m a two-time graduate of the College of Nursing. I think that really set me up for success,” Jones said.
When asked how she felt about taking on the task of administering the vaccine, Jones replied with confidence, “Our team is amazing here at Franklin County Public Health. If I had to be stuck in a pandemic, I wouldn’t want to be stuck with anyone else.
“We know we are writing history here.”
Medical and non-medical volunteers are needed to help vaccinate the public against COVID-19 in Franklin County and Columbus. Visit ohioresponds.odh.ohio.gov