Over the past two weeks, there has been a daily deluge of news and frustrations over COVID-19 vaccinations, headlined this week by the establishment of mass vaccination sites in South Bay, East Bay and San Francisco. Providers have also expanded access to those most at risk for serious illness or death.
The initiatives should be good news for those who confuse the twisted explanations, baffling websites, and time retention times that have so far characterized the vaccine’s implementation. But the biggest problem remains: the limited supply of approved vaccines, even when the Biden administration increases production and a new single vaccine appears to be about to be distributed.
Here’s a look at the latest developments and what they mean to you.
So who can get the vaccine right now?
The state has authorized the vaccination of front-line health workers, residential patients, and, more recently, people 65 and older. But not all counties and health care providers have been able to accommodate these groups, and the state concedes that these residents will be prioritized “as supplies allow.”
Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties formally have green light vaccines for residents over 65 years of age. Alameda County says coverage for seniors will begin Monday, though some hospital systems have already begun.
But others choose to limit distribution due to insufficient supply. Kaiser, for example, restricts vaccines to non-health care workers to patients 75 years of age or older, and cites limited doses. John Muir Health says it plans to expand to patients ages 65 to 74 on Feb. 15.
Bay Area counties continue to urge eligible vaccine recipients to go first to their own health care providers, to ensure efficient use of each entity’s vaccine allocations and to reserve the doses provided to the county’s health systems. county for uninsured people and underserved communities.
But messaging has changed last week. Santa Clara County has just instituted a “wrong door” policy that encourages anyone who can currently receive a vaccine to get any provider, regardless of hospital membership or insurance. This comes after the revelation that approximately 20% of the vaccines assigned to the county went unscheduled. Other counties now offer similar guidelines.
Meanwhile, stakeholders continue to advocate for a special vaccine priority for its members, including agricultural workers, teachers, and those with health problems. Last week, a group of health workers in the bay area asked providers to resist such requests. Just focus on the elderly, they said.
How will these mass vaccination sites work?
This week a state-federal partnership was announced that will commission the Federal Emergency Management Agency to operate a mass vaccination site on Oakland Coliseum lands beginning Feb. 16; reservations are promised through the state’s new MyTurn.ca.gov website. The Moscone Center has just opened as a mass vaccination site run by San Francisco and Kaiser. Santa Clara County announced it is partnering with the San Francisco 49ers to set up the venue at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium, opening Tuesday; see sccfreevax.org for quotes.
The purpose of these sites is to expand the scope of the vaccine to specific populations and provide some relief to people who are uninsured or unable to get their own providers ’scheduling systems. Some of these organizations are also putting emerging sites in severely affected neighborhoods to the same end.
What about the supply? Isn’t a new vaccine supposed to come out soon?
A significant increase in doses is needed to vaccinate enough in the American population to achieve herd immunity and end the pandemic. Even with the state tripling its daily vaccines to 150,000 over the past month, only 9% of California’s 40 million residents have obtained vaccines.
The Biden administration has requested 200 million more doses from Pfizer and Moderna and plans to send one million doses to pharmacies across the country. CVS will begin administering vaccines to 100 of its California stores starting Thursday.
The supply situation will improve with the distribution of a new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, after the Food and Drug Administration reviewed its emergency clearance at the end of the month to obtain an emergency clearance.
Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor and infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco, is optimistic about the impact of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as it requires only one dose: the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines consist of two shots administered between three and four weeks apart and does not require frozen storage.
The company says it can supply 100 million doses of vaccine to the federal government during the first half of 2021.
“That changes the game,” Gandhi said. “The vaccine will be released much faster.”
As supplies increase, more categories of people will be allowed to be vaccinated. If vaccine production continues to increase as expected, people 16 and older in the lower risk categories could start receiving vaccines this summer.
Let’s go back to these second doses. I’ve heard of side effects. How bad are they?
Reports in recent days have indicated that the second doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines produce more side effects than the first dose, mainly flu-like symptoms such as swelling, pain, body aches, headache and fever. But medical experts say this is a sign that the vaccine is eliciting the desired immune response.
Gandhi said that in most cases, the wear and tear of the second dose is manageable with painkillers and rest.
I am completely vaccinated. What do they allow me to do?
The general medical consensus urges vaccinated people to behave as they would if they were not vaccinated, because they could still be carriers; research has not yet established that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines prevent the transmission of the disease.
But Gandhi sees little risk when two vaccinated people meet and have contact. And he believes a vaccinated person who has given negative tests also has little to fear in interacting with unvaccinated friends and family. Just take the right precautions: mask yourself and try to keep your distance.
“This is a messaging issue that tells people that even if you are not vaccinated, nothing changes. I know public health officials make good sense, but that’s not how the real world works, ”Gandhi said. “I don’t think it’s sustainable. People have been waiting so long for vaccines and the loneliness is deep.”