Pharmacist Brian Kiefer draws saline while preparing a dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, Calif.
California is starting to open mass vaccination sites to accelerate vaccinations and accommodate the increased number of Californians now eligible for the vaccine. The new guidelines announced Thursday allow providers to vaccinate people in Phase 1b (essential workers and people 65 and up), but only if vaccines have been made available to everyone in Phase 1a. Many counties are still working through Phase 1a, leading to delays for those in Phase 1b1.
Officials hope that mass vaccination sites at places like Dodger Stadium and Disneyland will significantly increase the number of vaccinations they are able to do each day. ‘“We recognize that the current strategy is not going to get us to where we need to go as quickly as we all need to go,” Newsom said. “So that’s why we’re speeding up the administration not just for priority groups but opening up large sites to do so”’1. At Dodger Stadium, the goal is to vaccinate 12,000 people every day. Previously, Dodger stadium had been a testing site, but LA mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday that ‘the city shut down coronavirus testing at Dodger Stadium and at the V.A. in Westwood because “we needed personnel from two testing sites just to match what we need for vaccinations in one”’3. A big reason for this is that vaccinating is more complex and time-consuming than testing. Most of the testing consisted of self-administered swabs, while vaccinations require a health professional to do the injection and monitor the patient for 15 minutes. “The timing is also delicate: Staff have to thaw and prepare enough doses to keep the line moving quickly, but not so many that the shots expire”. A complete vaccination also requires a second dose, which creates even more logistical work even after a patient has left the facility”3.
In the Bay Area, it’s likely that within the next few weeks mass vaccination sites, like the one at the San Mateo County Event Center, will be able to start vaccinating those in Phase 1b1.
5 comments:
It's great to hear that these mass vaccination sites are opening. However, I do wonder which vaccines they will administer, now that a batch of Moderna's vaccines have caused a few people severe side effects like anaphylactic shock, requiring them to receive immediate medical attention. Considering the fact that this batch was in San Diego, I wonder if the plan to open mass vaccination sites will be paused, or if they will instead give out the Pfizer vaccine. In general, California has been on the slower side of distributing vaccines, which is really unfortunate for the number of cases our state has relative to the rest of the US.
I think that opening more vaccination sites is both a good and bad idea. I think that having more place to receive the vaccine will help the California reopen. I like that people getting the vaccine has not changed from guideline even with the new stations opening. I think that having sites for vaccination can be bad idea as people may not go to them. I think a better idea to distribute the vaccine would be to work with local organizations. The organization already have set aside time and location for meetings which members know and attend. It does not add another stop on to the list of people with business schedules like vaccination sites do
It is definitely exciting to expect greater access to vaccinations in the upcoming months. With Newsom attempting to rapidly return students to some form of in-person learning, ensuring that the teachers are vaccinated is essential in their desire to teach in-person. With the rising number of cases in California, time could not be more of the essence to vaccinate as many eligible individuals as possible.
With a batch of Modern vaccines causing allergic reactions, many called for a halt in the distribution out of an abundance of caution. However, with few hospitalizations, the process is said to resume. With so much uncertainty, it is hard to say when the majority of Californians will be vaccinated, but many are optimistic that by June all those 65 and older should have received their full treatments. After much anticipation, it is very hopeful to see the distribution of the vaccines, and healthcare workers cannot stress the need for everyone to hunker down a little while longer, and prevent the spread of the disease.
It is most definitely exciting to hear that individuals are slowly able to have access to vaccines and a step closer to herd immunity. Although it is great that there is a mass vaccination site, I do agree with Liam's concerns in regards to the dangers of these sites as people may be exposed to the virus. The SF Chronicle provided information about people outside of the region being permitted to receive the vaccine in San Francisco. Issues with people from outside the region coming in are unpredictable but I agree with Liam on how it may be more efficient to distribute vaccines to local cities rather than organizing a mass site. SF Chronicle also stated that only six out of the twenty-two tents are used for vaccination which I think is the county's attempt in slowly transitioning for this event to happen as it's actually beneficial since it prevents an overflow of people though inefficient.
While it is really good news that vaccines are beginning to be given out and will only increase as times goes on. Having more sites to administer more vaccines will be beneficial overall and will allow California as a whole to reopen again. But there is still many problems as to why its hard to administer so many vaccines with how time sensitive they are and the amount of healthcare workers needed to help administer them. Currently, only some sites are open to vaccines with testing and this number will only increase as time goes on; though it might seem frustrating to know that there is the ability to get a vaccine but they are being slowly administered. The safety precautions are more beneficial to make sure there isn't an overflow of people and keep everyone safe.
Post a Comment