California plans to vaccinate up to 3 million people a week by March 1 – more than double its current rate – under a distribution contract with Blue Shield that went into effect on Monday. The target was set as counties continued to face frustrating supply problems.
The partnership with Blue Shield aims to repair what has so far been a rugged and chaotic vaccination launch in California, highlighted in the Bay Area this week for the opening of a major immunization center, while two others closed because of the vaccine shortage.
The Oakland Coliseum opens on Tuesday morning as the largest vaccination site in Alameda County. The state began making appointments for the clinic on Sunday at MyTurn.ca.gov – its online booking platform.
The auspicious opening and disappointing closings are among the most obvious markers of the struggle to vaccinate people quickly and efficiently in California. Access to the vaccine is often fickle, and residents have expressed frustrated confusion about when and how they will be able to get the vaccines.
“It is obviously confusing for people. It’s hard to say what’s going on, ”said Dr. George Rutherford, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, in an interview on Monday. “But it is not about bad intentions. This is nothing but the vagaries of the supply system. All we can do is ask people to join us as the supply reaches the demand. “
State officials said the collaboration with Blue Shield will streamline distribution, drawing on the experience of one of California’s largest insurers. THE
The state remains responsible for approving vaccine allocations to counties and some major health care providers, such as Kaiser Permanente, and determining how doses are divided. Blue Shield is tasked with developing a system to help the state make these decisions and manage the details of the distribution.
Blue Shield’s distribution system should take into account not only how many people are served by counties and providers, but how quickly they are administering vaccines and how they are reaching underserved communities.
The state and Blue Shield have set a goal to increase capacity so that California can vaccinate 3 million people a week by the end of this month and 4 million a week by the end of April. Whether they can manage so many shots depends on the supply, which is not controlled by the state.
California currently vaccines about 1.3 million people a week. The state administered more than 6 million doses as of Monday, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Other objectives relate to equal access to vaccines. For 95% of the population, vaccines must be available within 30 minutes of travel time in urban areas and 60 minutes in rural areas, and there must be plans to vaccinate people who are unable to leave home. The contract repeatedly mentions the development of goals and measures to bring vaccines to communities that have been most affected by the coronavirus.
The Oakland Coliseum website, along with a similar operation at Cal State Los Angeles, aims to address some of these capital issues. The Coliseum clinic is open to all Californians, not just Alameda County residents, although they must meet the county’s current vaccine qualification to make an appointment. This group includes health professionals; anyone aged 65 or over; and workers in education, emergency services and the food and agriculture industries.
Both sites will prioritize access for people who may have trouble getting vaccinated elsewhere, state and federal officials said. The equitable distribution of vaccines has been problematic. Latin and black residents, in particular, are being vaccinated at much lower rates than whites, despite carrying a much greater burden of disease.
“These sites were created to reach the populations that generally have the most difficulty getting access to good medical care,” said Grady Joseph, assistant director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES. “We are approaching these two sites with an equity lens. And making sure that the individuals who historically have the most difficulty accessing are at the front of the line. “
Sites Oakland Coliseum and Cal State Los Angeles were the first announced by the Biden government this month as part of a plan to build 100 mass vaccination clinics across the country in the president’s first 100 days of office. The Oakland Coliseum website aims to deliver 6,000 doses a day. Both sites are managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state, through Cal OES.
Vaccine supplies for the Oakland location come directly from the federal government, not the Alameda County portion, and people do not have to be county residents to use the location. Other major vaccination clinics, including those in San Francisco
Mayor London Breed regretted the lack of vaccine supplies on Twitter on Sunday when she announced that the two San Francisco sites would be closed until at least the end of the week.
“I am frustrated because we have shown that SF can deliver injections as soon as they arrive,” wrote Breed. “The only thing that stops us is a lack of supply, and I hope that will change soon.”
Likewise, public health officials had to stop vaccination at several locations in Southern California, including Dodger Stadium last week. The site will reopen on Tuesday, but only for people who receive their second doses, public health officials said. They said their ability to expand the clinic is largely limited by the supply of vaccines.
“Our city has the tools, infrastructure and determination to vaccinate Angelenos quickly and safely – we simply need more doses,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in a statement on Monday.
Rutherford said supply issues were partly a remnant of the Trump administration, which over-promised how many doses would be made available to states. Vaccines reached the levels promised in the first weeks of launch in early December, but soon fell short.
“Everyone is trying to do as good a job as possible, given all the circumstances,” said Rutherford.
Erin Allday is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. The e-mail: