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Information on COVID-19 Vaccine distribution for Mayo Clinic patients
For Mayo Clinic Patients:
The COVID-19 pandemic has made this a trying year for everyone. But there is good news to report.
An effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine is available now, and other COVID-19 vaccines will be coming soon. These vaccines have been tested under strict guidelines. Studies show that the first vaccine available, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and the next vaccine likely to be available, the Moderna vaccine, are 95% and 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19.
Like many, you may have questions about these vaccines. This COVID-19 vaccine educational flyer will answer some of your questions. Be sure to follow Mayo Podcasts for up to the minute news about vaccination, COVID and more.
Mayo Clinic is working with other health care organizations, and state and federal authorities, to prepare for the fair and safe distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. But it will take some time to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
The first people who will be offered vaccination for COVID-19 are those with the highest risk of getting infected: front-line health care workers and adults in long-term care facilities. As more COVID-19 vaccines become available, more people will be offered vaccinations.
We will continue to share with you information about COVID-19 vaccines on our COVID-19 information hub and on Mayo Clinic News Network's COVID page. Mayo Clinic patients can expect emails from their care teams and see updates on Patient Online Services, Mayo's patient portal, about scheduling vaccination appointments at Mayo Clinic.
While COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing COVID-19, you should continue to follow other prevention protocols already in place:
- Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth.
- Stay at least 6 feet apart from other people.
- Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 70% alcohol.
Mayo Clinic believes that COVID-19 vaccines will be effective in preventing COVID-19. When you are eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19, we encourage you to schedule a vaccination appointment. Follow news from your state and local health authorities for further information.
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Elizabeth-I too am a patient at Mayo here in Jacksonville and as of now, the middle of January, have not heard a word regarding the vaccine. I sent a message via my portal to my care team and they have no answers. I went for a Dermatology appt last week and had to walk through about 100 people all congregated in the Canaday building waiting on their vaccine. Totally unorganized. Then I heard they ran out of vaccines. I do not want to be standing for hours with a large group of people inside a building. I have my oncologist appt this week and will ask again what order they are going in.
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1 ReactionMy Primary Care physician is not from Mayo but I am a Mayo patient with the Spine Center. The PCP in Mayo is not accepting new Medicare patients which is the reason I had to look for a MD outside Mayo. So if I don’t have a PCP from Mayo do I receive a letter to set up a C19 vaccine?
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1 ReactionInterested to hear this answer....
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1 ReactionIn your situation I would contact the Mayo MD who I am affiliated with. They should be able to direct you.
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2 ReactionsAs long as you are an active registered Mayo patient you will be contacted through email (to go on your portal) or letter according to the website. Primary care doctors at Mayo have nothing to do with it according to my care team members.
For those of you who are not Mayo patients - or would have to travel a great distance to reach a Mayo facility, we have started a new discussion to help people link to vaccine information in their own specific locality. You can find it here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-you-can-get-information-about-covid-19-vaccine-in-your-locality/
If you have found a link to a government-sponsored site providing vaccine information for your State, Province or County, please help us by sharing it in that discussion.
Thanks,
Sue
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4 Reactions@naiviv, fellow member @sue6175 is right. Contact your Mayo care team. They will be able to direct you.
@seaspray, that does not sound like a good situation. I'm sorry that you did not receive a message via Mayo's patient portal. I recommend sending a message to oncology to find out more before your appointment this week.
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1 Reaction@colleenyoung - LOL, I did contact my oncology team! This is their response:
Mayo Clinic will invite patients in waves based on vaccine availability and patient risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection. Patient selection criteria follows the guidelines that have been given by the State of Florida. Mayo Clinic will notify patients when they are eligible to receive the vaccine via the patient portal or regular mail.
I guess having stage iv cancer and recent brain radiation does not qualify me to be in the first wave!
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2 Reactions@seaspray. Please have faith. At this time all medical groups and hospitals are flooded with phone calls and emails, they have to have a generic reply. I got a similar one in my email too. I'm sure when they got the supply and logistics issues sorted out, you will be among the first to get it.
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2 Reactions@seaspray, it is true that each Mayo Clinic is beholden to the distribution plan of the state in which they are located. It's frustrating. Stage IV cancer patients should be included in an early phase, but that is up to the state.
For Florida, you can see updates about the vaccine’s availability for various groups on the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine website here. https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/covid-19-vaccines-in-florida/
Or text “FLCOVID19” to 888777 to learn more about the governor’s distribution plan.