Educational Cover Story Session TWO by Casey L . Penn
COVID-19 Vaccinations & Update
Speakers : Col . Robert Ator , Dr . Jose Romero
During the second educational session of the day , attendees heard updates in relation to COVID-19 vaccinations and variants from both Col . Robert Ator , the program manager for the state ’ s COVID-19 deployment , and Jose Romero , MD , Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health .
COVID-19 Vaccination Deployment Update
Col . Ator was appointed by Gov . Hutchinson in January of this year to help with vaccine deployment in the state . During his recent presentation to physician members , he summarized the timeline of events from when the state first began receiving and distributing vaccines until presentation date ( May 14 ). He shared some positives along with lessons learned , covered how the state is doing according to the CDC , and explained to physicians what comes next and their role .
Taking listeners back to December 2020 , the start of the vaccination program in Arkansas , Col . Ator recalled how the state had to start small , with just 25,000 doses administered per week . “ This week , we ’ re seeing about 104,000 doses ,” he said .
The state took a phased approach to prioritize who got the vaccine . That ’ s not necessarily easy , Col . Ator indicated , “ One of the things that I felt challenged by [ was ] you have two competing interests : you want to take care of the most vulnerable members of the state , and on the other hand , make sure that society moves forward . There was that balancing act that we had to pay attention to .”
Initially , the state had more demand than supply . “ We had more requests from people who wanted to help than we had resourcing to be able to let them help ,” he recalled , noting that at the time , it was all about just trying to get the vaccine out there to meet the demand .
Col . Robert Ator
As far as different vaccines , the Colonel said that Pfizer and Moderna have been pretty consistent with product flow into the state , while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been sporadic in its consistency .
Some of the best news that Col . Ator shared was that Arkansas leads the nation in vaccine distribution equity , according to April ’ s Centers for Disease Control key performance indicators . The indicators showed that Arkansas was above the mean for the U . S . in equity , and not only that , but also in ordering , inventory , and administration . “ Our strategies are working ,” said Col . Ator . “ Arkansas is doing a good job .”
The Approach Moving Forward
Now that we ’ re a few months into distribution in the state , the challenges are changing . Col . Ator shared thoughts on the greatest challenge now and how he is addressing it . “ Since the vaccination has been available to most everybody , the demand has fallen off ,” he said , noting , however , that the decline is softening somewhat . “ We are hopeful . The whole point of what we ’ re doing now is ‘ ease of access – in depth .’ I want vaccine in every place I can get it because we ’ re working on what I ’ m terming ‘ the moveable middle .’
“ The ones that were early adopters , that wanted the vaccine , they ’ re taken care of . Then we have a sizeable portion of the population that wants nothing to do with the vaccine . That ’ s going to be a hard fight to get them [ on board ]. But we do have those folks in the middle that can be persuaded . And if we make it as easy as possible and we stay within pathways of trust , to be able to advocate for it effectively , then I think we stand our best chance .”
Col . Ator noted that as he ’ s working to help the state get vaccine everywhere – in pop-up clinics , doctors ’ offices , and places where people are coming together – doctors will play a key role . “ The advocacy of looking someone in the eye and telling them they need the vaccine , that is going to be key to getting us past this hesitancy ,” he said .
Where in the past , Col . Ator learned from giving medical offices more vaccine than they could handle at once , now he is moving more toward what he called “ a hub and spoke model ,” which involves getting plenteous quantities of the different vaccines into each county and then allowing doctors and clinics to come and get what they need .
Col . Ator ended his talk with gratitude to the physicians . “ For all that you have done , for taking care of our fellow citizens ,” he stressed , “ I can ’ t thank you enough .”
As program manager for the state ’ s COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment , Col . Robert Ator manages logistics related to vaccine distribution and serves as liaison to other state agencies to assist with sharing information and data collection . A retired Air Force wing commander , he also serves as the director of military affairs in the Arkansas Department of Commerce . His military logistics and supply-chain experience uniquely equip him for this task . Col . Ator retired after serving as commander of the 189th Airlift Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard , the largest Air National Guard C-130 Wing in the U . S .
( Continued on page 12 ) 10 • The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society www . ArkMed . org