In an effort to administer the vaccine to people at higher risk for coronavirus complications, San Diego County has approved vaccination for all residents 75 years of age or older.
Officials said the measure was caused by a slowdown also at COVID-19 vaccination sites.
“We did this action today to add people 75 years of age or older because they have the highest risk,” said Dr. Wilma J. Wooten, San Diego County Public Health Officer.
In an effort to administer the vaccine to people at higher risk for coronavirus complications, San Diego County has approved vaccination for all residents age 75 and older, according to Melissa Adan of NBC 7
San Diego officials who want the shot can now be summoned to the Petco Park supermarket and other places in the county where the shot is being fired, officials said.
Although last week the county approved medical sites to begin vaccinating people age 65 and older following a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control, so far the county itself has not expanded the level 1A swimming pool. , who is primarily a resident of assisted living and health care facilities. welfare workers.
Some 65- to 75-year-olds were vaccinated at downtown San Diego’s “super station” Monday, but a representative from UC San Diego Health, which works downtown, said availability only opened in the age group for one day due to low appointment volume.
To date, only UC San Diego Health and Scripps Health have expanded network vaccination to patients 65 years of age or older.
Scripps said he uses vaccine remnants from his initial batch assigned to his own health workers and said he has not received any additional vaccines from the government to use in the population 65 and older.
California health officials recommend a pause in the distribution of a certain batch of the Modern coronavirus vaccine after it causes a severe allergic reaction in a small number of people, including some who received the vaccine at the Super Station of San Diego Petco Park. Nicole Gomez informs.
Officials stressed that appointments are mandatory at county locations and that anyone arriving without an appointment should be picked up.
The county has also received help from Cal Fire EMT and paramedics who have administered vaccines at specialized nursing facilities.
Starting next week, anyone 65 and older will be able to get the shot, Wooten said Monday in a press release.
“It remains our intention to expand vaccines to those over 65 the week of Jan. 25, depending on vaccine availability.”
Meanwhile, at UC San Diego Health, officials are concerned that phone lines are overflowing and urge patients not to call health care providers directly, but instead ask them to wait to be contacted.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wants to speed up the coronavirus vaccination process. He has teamed up with about three dozen mayors across the country to send a letter to President-elect Joe Biden calling for vaccines to be delivered directly to cities instead of getting doses to go first. state, to then distribute them to the counties. As reported by NBC Audra Stafford 7.
UCSD prioritizes patients who are at serious risk for COVID-19 infection and who have comorbidities, officials said. Those who meet the requirements “will receive a direct invitation to be vaccinated through their electronic medical record or a direct call from their health care provider.”
Last Wednesday, state public health officials followed CDC guidelines by announcing that people 65 and older could get the vaccine and join the next, already admissible, level of emergency workers, teachers, health care providers. childcare services and food and agriculture workers grouped at level 1B. The decision baffled some officials, who said they don’t even have enough doses to vaccinate those at level 1A.
San Diego has about 620,000 health workers and residents at a long-term health center at Level 1A. If people 65 and older meet the requirements for the vaccine, 500,000 more people join.
“It’s great for the state to say,‘ Hey, people 65 and older are eligible to get vaccines, ’but that requires counties to have the vaccines,” said Nathan Fletcher, the county supervisor.
California received more than 2.4 million doses of vaccine last Monday, but only a third had been injected. Local governments have set up mass vaccine distribution sites in hopes of being able to convince state and federal officials to send them more doses. San Diego last week opened the so-called super center in the Tailgate Park car park outside Petco Park, where thousands of people have been shot. Officials expect to increase up to 5,000 vaccines a day at this site. On Saturday, 4,345 were shot there, authorities said.
People who had an appointment at Tailgate Park encountered long queues, whether they were walking or in a vehicle; in fact, in the afternoon, the lines meandered through the streets of the city to a nearby highway offer. And NBC 7 spoke to a person in the queue who was, in fact, 66, who said that despite their age, they had been recorded and had to be shot.
The governor’s announcement that people 65 and older were eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine gave half a million to San Diego who hoped to get it. NBC 7’s Bridget Naso has more details.