Virus variants, vaccine shortages alarm experts
More than 1,000 cases of West Coast variant confirmed in Santa Clara County
Health officials painted a sobering picture as they warned residents about the continued spread of virus variants.
Even with California hitting a major pandemic milestone — opening COVID vaccination appointments to everyone 50 and older — Bay Area health officials painted a sobering picture Thursday as they warned residents about the continued spread of troubling virus variants and vaccine shortages.
Middle-aged Californians newly eligible for shots scrambled for coveted appointments, sometimes getting turned away because of a lack of supply. At the same time, experts warned of an alarming rise in COVID variant infections. It’s a “race between the variants and the vaccine,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. But throughout the Bay Area, team vaccine has been handicapped by a dearth of shots.
“We’re back in a bit of a precarious place as far as our ability to curb this pandemic,” Cody said, noting that all four of the most concerning virus mutations are circulating in her county, which later Thursday opened up thousands of first-dose appointments for the first time in a month. “We all have cabin fever, we all want to get out, we all want to get back to our lives. But we can’t do that quite yet.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged vaccine challenges as he got his own COVID shot Thursday.
“Even though we’re lifting the eligibility, bringing down the age to 50, (and) in two weeks everyone 16 and over, that doesn’t mean April 16 everyone who wants a vaccine will have been vaccinated,” he said. “It still will take a number of months to get to that point.”
California Health & Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly administered Newsom’s shot of the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a Los Angeles mall-turned vaccination site, as members of the media watched.
“One and done,” 53-yearold Newsom said before Ghaly rolled up the governor’s sleeve and injected his right arm. “I have been looking forward to this for many, many months.”
Not everyone was so lucky in their efforts to secure a vaccination appointment.
“I’m convinced it is a giant April Fool’s joke,” 56-year-old Jan Derrickson from Marin wrote to this news organization.
“It’s not only frustrating, it’s just darn irritating I guess is the only nice word I can use,” said Jane Goldbach, of San Jose. She had been trying without success to book an appointment for her 55-yearold son, who has learning disabilities and lives with her.
Striking an ominous note, Santa Clara County health officials on Thursday warned residents to avoid travel, continue wearing face masks and avoid indoor activities with others even as businesses continue to reopen. As of March 27, there were 92 confirmed cases of the United Kingdom variant in the Bay Area’s most populous county, three confirmed cases of the South Africa variant, one case of the Brazil variant and more than 1,000 confirmed cases of the pair known together as the California or West Coast variant.