State aiming for ‘much faster’ vaccine rollout
Dentists, pharmacy techs could join vaccination efforts
Conceding its coronavirus vaccination program has lagged so far, California is enlisting dentists, pharmacy technicians and even the California National Guard to join the effort to deliver shots to millions of residents.
The state’s distribution process “has gone too slowly,” Newsom said during a news briefing Monday. “As we move into January we want to see things accelerate, and we want to see things go much faster.”
To speed the rollout, California’s Department of Consumer Affairs this week issued an emergency waiver to allow the state’s more than 36,000 dentists to administer the vaccine if they complete about three hours’ worth of video training. The department issued a similar waiver last
John Muir Health physician Kishore Nath, left, speaks with Mez Chafe-Powles, 92, before administering a COVID-19 vaccine at the Viamonte facility on Dec. 30.
month for pharmacy technicians.
“You now have an increased army of people who can get out there into the communities and provide vaccines,” said San Francisco dentist Natasha Lee, a recent president of the California Dental Association. Lee said she expected dentists would administer the shot at locally run vaccination facilities, rather than their own offices, similar to how many dentists and their staffs have worked at COVID-19 testing sites throughout the pandemic.
As of Tuesday, California had administered 456,980 vaccine doses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — just 23% of the 2 million doses the federal government has distributed to the state. California Department of Public Health figures varied slightly, reporting a somewhat smaller 1.8 million doses allocated and 459,564 administered, or 26%.
Nationwide, 17 million vaccine doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been distributed as of Tuesday, of which about 4.8 million, or 28%, have been given to people as the first in a two- shot inoculation regimen, according to the CDC. The vaccine makers recommend a second dose within three to four weeks for maximum effectiveness.
By comparison, nearly 1.4 million doses were distributed to Texas, of which 451,210, or 33%, were administered, the CDC reported. Florida administered 264,512 doses, or 23%, out of 1.2 million distributed. New York administered 299,428 doses, or 32%, out of 934,925 distributed.
“We are working aggressively to accelerate our pace,” Newsom said. “You are going to start seeing more rapid distribution of this vaccine, I can assure you of that.”
The governor’s statement came on a day in which California reported just over 70,000 new coronavirus cases, a new record high for a single day, according to data compiled by this news organization, and was averaging 36,560 cases per day over the past week. More than 40,000 cases had been reported as of late Tuesday afternoon, with some counties having yet to update their case counts.
T he number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is higher than ever, at more than 22,000; 4,734 of those patients were being treated in intensive care units as of Monday.
And California is in the deadliest stretch of the pandemic so far, having recorded 2,476 deaths over the past week, with health officials warning all of those figures could worsen if gatherings over Christmas and New Year’s lead to another surge in cases.
While the state continues to work through its first tier of some 3 million top priority vaccine recipients — front-line health professionals and residents and staff of residential care facilities for the elderly — its Community Vaccine Advisory Committee is expected to provide further details at a meeting today on the next round, for those 75 years and older, as well as educators.
L oc a l of f icia ls have touted some successes in distributing vaccinations. More than 90% of residents and most workers at San Francisco’s massive Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center were expected to receive their first shot by the end of the day Tuesday, Mayor London Breed and Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said.
But state officials also acknowledged this week they have had to clarify with health agencies how to prioritize distribution in situations where they end up with thawed vaccine in danger of spoiling and not enough arms to accept it.
That has happened at several Southern California hospitals where some eligible staff declined the vaccine and those doses that other w ise wou ld have spoiled went to family members of hospital workers. A different situation created a similar problem at a Ukiah hospital, where a freezer holding the doses broke and health officials were forced to offer doses to the public on a first- come basis in a matter of hours or see it go to waste. Despite the crunch, the hospital still managed to screen recipients based on occupation and age.
The state Department of Public Health has warned vaccine providers that failing to follow federal and state vaccine requirements and prioritization could lead to them being cut out of distribution and facing legal action. However on Monday, Newsom stressed that the state would not penalize vaccinators acting in good faith and “trying to do the right thing.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said that the state has provided guidelines for health officials to follow in those situations to ensure the vaccines reach people most in need, but said his department was clarifying that with health providers.
Locally, Contra Costa County health officials said they have “had instances where eligible people decline vaccination,” and the vaccine was offered to “other eligible individuals.” They had no information about any wasted doses.
Alameda County health officials said that when vaccines have been declined by those eligible, “we have move through the prioritization framework set by the CDC and the state.”
In San Mateo County, health spokesman Preston Merchant said, “We have so far not experienced significant wastage of the vaccine or individuals opting out.”