Optimism prevails — despite challenges
To help keep the Mendocino Coast Community informed of Coronavirus updates, Dr. William Miller, Mendocino Coast District Hospital Chief of Staff; offers The Miller Report: A hyperlocal, weekly column on the progress of COVID-19 within our community.
As much as we here have to provide consistent and accurate messaging throughout the past year, it remains a challenge — mostly because of sudden policy changes and lots of false starts and stops at all levels.
This was true with PPE, it was true with COVID testing and it has remained true with the vaccine availability. Unfortunately, this also contributes to the “COVID-19 burnout” that we are all experiencing.
Nationally, clinics have complained that it is difficult to schedule vaccinations when we often don’t know how many doses we will get until shortly beforehand. On March 22, we were told to expect to not receive any doses for our vaccination clinic. However,
the next day, (due in large part to the diligent work of Dr. Bessant Parker our Chief Medical Officer and to the willingness of Adventist Health) we were able to locate all 740 doses needed for the second-dose Moderna booster shots, which were shared with us by other Adventist facilities.
Last week was a particularly great week for vaccination on the Coast: Mendocino Coast Clinics gave out 700 injections, Adventist gave 820 at C.V. Starr and the county gave another 500 — for a total of 1,540 doses. The majority of these were seconddose shots. This brings the grand total of people in Mendocino County who have received at least one dose to nearly 30,000 — of which about 5,000 people are living on the coast.
Having said that, we may see the number of doses coming to Mendocino through both the Adventist system and the health department lower in the next few weeks. Thus, we have been asked by the health department to focus on second-dose shots for now, and avoid giving first doses again until we know that our supply is better assured.
The reason for this relative reduction is the need for California to redirect doses towards counties considered to be at the highest risk. The CDC reported recently that of the 48 states in the continental U.S., California ranks near the bottom — at 44th, in terms of equitably distributing the vaccine to vulnerable populations based on ethnicity, health literacy, poverty and homelessness which have all been identified as factors for highest risk. This is important for the state because of concerns about a recent upswing in new cases in New York and Florida. We need to get those at higher risk vaccinated quickly to avoid another surge here in California.
Even with these considerations, the future looks promising.
Despite recent hype around AstraZeneca, it looks to be a very good vaccine that will likely be approved by the FDA soon. In addition to bringing a fourth vaccine distributor online in the U.S., the production and distribution of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have ramped up considerably.
President Biden promised to deliver 100 million vaccines to Americans by his 100th day in office and the U.S. surpassed that goal on March 19; 41 days early. Last Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom promised that every adult Californian who wants a vaccine will be able to schedule one by end of April, and receive it by end of May. If this comes true, then it is well in advance of earlier projections that it might not be until August or September when those who want the vaccine here could receive it.
Locally, Mendocino Coast Clinics will be administering 25 doses of the Johnson & Johnson, onetime dose to the unhoused here on our coast through its Street Medicine Program, and will give another 30 next week. MCC also plans to give 900, second-dose vaccines next week on April 2 and 3.
AH will be giving the 740 second-dose shots, (those ones mentioned previously) at C.V. Starr to those who received their first dose on Feb. 21, 25, or March 25. Please, arrive at the time that you got your first dose. If your dose was not administered during that time span, then simply arrive at 12:30. Remember to bring your completed yellow form and your CDC vaccination card, which you received at your first shot appointment.