Marin unable to meet vaccine guideline
Lack of doses limits ability for shots for those 65 and older
The state is now allowing anyone 65 and older to get coronavirus vaccinations, but local health officials say the change will have little effect in Marin unless the county begins receiving more vaccines from the state.
“Unfortunately, we just don’t have the doses necessary to add that group,” Dr. Matt Willis, the Marin County public health officer, said Thursday.
Marin’s three hospitals, however, receive their own supply of vaccine and are free to decide whom to vaccinate.
In a statement Thursday, Kaiser Permanente, which operates the San Rafael Medical Center, wrote it is reaching out to its members “who are 65 and older to provide information about vaccine availability and how to
schedule a vaccination appointment.”
“Currently, appointments can be made by telephone and we expect high call volumes,” the statement said. “By the end of next week, Kaiser Permanente expects to have online self-service tools in place that will allow eligible individuals the opportunity to schedule an appointment if vaccine supply is available.”
The company added, “But given the current limited supply of vaccines nationally it is important to know that not everyone who is eligible will be able to make an appointment right away.”
Ashley Boarman, a spokeswoman for Sutter Health, which operates Novato Community Hospital, confirmed that Sutter is scheduling vaccinations for patients 75 and older.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the change of plan after the federal government altered its guidance earlier in the week — recommending that every American 65 and older and adults with medical conditions that place them at higher risk of dying from the virus be allowed access to the vaccine.
The federal government began its reappraisal following complaints that the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended protocol for allocating vaccines was overly complicated and resulting in delays getting shots into arms.
Marin County is wrapping up phase 1A of the original plan, which included three tiers. Willis said the county might be able to move on to the first tier of phase 1B by the end of next week.
Originally, only people 75 and older and certain essential workers — food and agricultural workers, teachers, day care workers — were supposed to be eligible for vaccinations in the first tier of phase 1B. Newsom’s announcement clears the way for people 65 and older.
“We are still actively trying to determine if we should hold it to 75 and older or whether we can move it to 65 and older as a county,” Willis said.
If the county does open it up, it will mean an even larger group of people will be competing for what remains a very limited resource.
Willis said about 65,000 of Marin’s residents are over 65. He estimates about 25,000 essential workers would qualify for the first tier of phase 1B. And each one of those people would require two doses for optimal immunity.
Willis said the county is now receiving enough vaccines to dispense about
2,000 doses a day. At that rate, he said, it would take three months to vaccinate all of the Marin residents eligible for phase 1B.
Phase 1C would come next. That is when people ages 16 to 64 who have medical conditions that place them at high risk for severe illness or death from the virus would become eligible for the vaccine for the first time.
“People’s underlying health status also needs to be a consideration,” said Jennifer Rienks, a Marin Healthcare District board member. “People who have those chronic conditions need to be further up in the line.”
Willis said it surprised him that the federal guidelines didn’t give medical vulnerability a higher priority.
But he said, “They are offering blunt and evidencebased estimations of risk for the entire population rather than an individualized approach, so there will inevitably be some gaps.”
Willis defended the decision to give some essential workers, such as food and agricultural workers, access to the vaccine before older people and people with greater medical vulnerability.
“We know the Latinx community has been so disproportionately affected,” Willis said.
Marin’s Latino residents, who make up 16% of the county population, have accounted for nearly 56% of its coronavirus infections and 15% of the deaths.
Marin’s White residents, who constitute 71% of the population, have accounted for 32% of the infections and nearly 69% of the deaths from the disease.
While Latino essential workers might be younger and at less risk of dying from the virus, they are also more likely to spread the disease because they tend to live in crowded households.
“Transmission is ultimately the driver of mortality,” Willis said.
Willis said the county’s decisions regarding who gets vaccinated first when it moves to phase 1B will be made after officials receiving advice from a new community advisory group. The group will hold its first meeting Friday.
Willis said the founding members of the group were chosen by the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services and the county’s hospitals, with input from the Marin County Board of Supervisors.
The group’s meetings will not be open to the general public for participation or observation, but decisions will be reported, county officials said.