Frustration mounts around vaccine rollout

MCDH Chief of Staff, Dr. William Miller

Many people in our community are expressing frustration that we have not yet been able to give them the vaccine. The simple answer is that, we can’t vaccinate unless we have the vaccine to give them. To examine the problem, let’s consider a few facts.

There are two vaccines approved for use in the U.S. under the emergency use authorization by the FDA. The Pfizer vaccine was approved on Dec. 11, just five weeks ago. The Moderna vaccine got approval one week later, Dec. 18.

The U.S. has purchased approximately 14 percent of the world’s supply of vaccine totaling 31.2 million doses, and essentially all of these have been distributed to the 50 states to administer. As of this writing, 12.3 million of those doses, or roughly a third, have been administered according to the University of Oxford School of Public Health website. This comprises about 4 percent of the US population having received at least the first of the two recommended doses thus far.

The Washington Post reported last week that all of the US doses obtained thus far by the federal government have been released and there are none in reserve. This means that further vaccination plans will have to depend on producing new vaccine doses.

According to the same article, President Biden is calling for an additional 100 million Americans to be fully vaccinated in the first 100 days of his presidency. Pfizer and Moderna have agreed to produce and sell to the US the 200 million needed doses to fulfill this call.

California received the largest allocation of any state, 3.55 million doses, and these were all delivered to the state early on. According to the New York times “Vaccine Rollout” website, which is updated daily, California has administered 30 percent of its allocation as of Jan. 19. Other states that got large numbers of doses include Texas, with 2.1 million doses that are 55 percent administered; Florida with 2 million doses that are 41 percent administered; and New York, with 1.9 million doses that are 40 percent administered).

There are several challenges that have conspired to delay the rollout in California. Aside from the logistical challenge of keeping the vaccines at the correct storage temperature, which is turning out not to be the big hurdle we expected, the state has developed a complex algorithm for determining who should be vaccinated and in what order.

This algorithm has at least three phases, divided into sub-phases and subphases being divided into separate tiers. This strategy is designed to make sure that the vaccine is given out fairly and ethically and considers factors such as risk of exposure, risk of mortality and the essential nature of particular jobs in society. We are in the second stage of that algorithm, which includes people age 75 and older.

Another complexity is the State’s mandates to track every single dose to ensure that the vaccine is being given according to the algorithm. Then, there’s the decision to distribute the vaccine through multiple different venues. Nursing homes, for example, get them through commercial pharmacies like CVS, while the general public is to get it through public health departments. Again, well-intentioned in that the strategy was hoped to avoid bottlenecks, instead it has created confusion adding to slowdowns.

In response to political pressure, Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week that the age limit for this stage was being lowered to 65 to accelerate administration. The problem with that decision is that we don’t have enough to vaccinate those over 75 as it is. Lowering the age is only diverting doses from those at the very highest risk of mortality and further stoking frustrations. According to the 2010 US census, there are about 4,400 people on the Mendocino Coast over age 65.

Mendocino County has done well in handling the vaccines it receives. All vaccine doses that are received in the county, either through the health department, Adventist Health or elsewhere, are being administered to people right away, usually within two days of arrival. So, there are no delays once we get the vaccine, the problem is that distribution from the state has been very limited and sporadic. Part of the challenge has been that we don’t know exactly how many doses we will get with any particular shipment until it arrives — making the scheduling of appointments to give the vaccine difficult.

A little more than 8,000 people in Mendocino County have received at least the first dose. This represents about 10 percent of those who are 16 years and older (no COVID-19 vaccine has been approved to be given to children at this time). Ten percent compares favorably to the 4 percent nationally, and 4 percent across the state of California in general.

About 5,870 of these doses were distributed through the county health department, with additional doses coming from Adventist Health, Indian Health Service and CVS pharmacy (for use in nursing homes). All of our frontline health care workers who desired vaccination have been vaccinated, most of these receiving both the first dose and the booster. Additionally, most first responders and almost all nursing home residents have also been vaccinated.

Last week, we received only 120 doses at the Adventist Health Medical Offices directed for patients over 75. We are not expecting to get any additional doses this week. Mendocino Coast Clinic in Fort Bragg gave 300 shots last week that were earmarked for school employees and expects to get another 300 this week for people above 75. Redwood Coast Medical Service in Gualala vaccinated 700 people in the last week following the tier system and expects to vaccinate another 100 this week. Appointments have already been fully scheduled for this week at both MCC and RCMS, so please don’t call looking for a vaccine. The best way to get on the list is to register with www.VaccinateMendo.com or call 707- 4722663.

Beckkie Emery, manager of the county’s Department Operations Center, noted, “We appreciate all of our community partners (including) hospital, clinics, cities and county. Absolutely a group effort.” We will continue to do our best as local health care providers and county health department officials to make the vaccine available as quickly and as fairly as possible. This pandemic continues to be a call for us to work together as a community.

Fort Bragg City Manager, Tabatha Miller

A reminder for all Fort Bragg residents at least 18 years of age and registered to vote in the city, applications for appointment to the open city council seat will be accepted until 4 p.m., Friday Jan. 29. For the application form and more information, visit the city’s website at city.fortbragg.com. The appointment period is just under two years — or until after the Nov. 1, 2022 election. In terms of compensation, councilors receive health benefits for themselves and their dependents, and a $300 a month stipend.

If you are interested in participating in local government in a less intense role, the Visit Fort Bragg Committee currently has three open seats. Two of the seats have a two-year term and one will be appointed to a one-year term. Visit Fort Bragg’s mission is to inspire visitors to enjoy Fort Bragg and elevate the Fort Bragg brand. During the pandemic, this can be a challenging balance. The deadline for applications has been extended to 5 p.m., Jan. 21. Applications are available on the city’s website by clicking on “Visit Fort Bragg” under the “Our Community” tab on the home page.

If you are interested in participating in city government but without the commitment, the city council meets every second and fourth Monday of the month. During the pandemic, members of the public can join the Zoom meeting by clicking on the link on the agenda or can listen by phone by calling the Zoom number also listed on the agenda.

As always, the meeting is televised locally on Comcast channel three and streamed with captions on Facebook Live from the city’s Facebook page. If you are unable to attend the Zoom meeting, you can submit public comments by emailing City Clerk

June Lemos, jlemos@fortbragg.com or by using the online eComment, accessed from the city’s webpage under “Agendas & Meetings.”

The city council meeting agenda on Monday, Jan.

25, will include the public hearing on the appeal of the Planning Commission decision denying the minor use permit for the proposed Sunshine Holistic business at 144 N. Franklin Street, an introduction of City Staff hired within the last year, a discussion by City Council as to whether to postpone the already approved water and sewer increases and approval of the two contracts related to application for the proposed Dollar General project

Participating in a Planning Commission meeting is also an option. The Planning Commission generally meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. Like city council meetings, members of the public can join the Zoom meeting by clicking on the link on the agenda, watch on Comcast channel three or from Facebook Live.

The topic for Jan. 27, 2021, will be a continued discussion on developing a city ordinance regulating Formula Businesses.

Finally, there are two upcoming City Council Committee meetings that may be of interest to the public. On Jan. 21, the Homelessness Ad Hoc Committee will hold a public forum at 4:30 p.m. to discuss use of the Gymnasium behind City Hall, 213 E. Laurel St., to temporarily host the Winter Shelter in March. For more information and a link to the Zoom meeting: https://city. fortbragg.com/ArchiveCenter/ ViewFile/Item/1195. Additionally, the Finance and Administration City Council Committee is scheduled to meeting on Feb. 3. Agendas for city council committee meetings can also be found on the city’s webpage “Agendas & Meetings.”

While our focus has been on the federal stage, I would like to remind our community of the impact and importance of participating in our local governments.