Public health officials in Southern California are making a big effort this week to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations and make vaccines in demand more widely available quickly.
To stem the slow pace of vaccination in the region, officials in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties are in the process of creating “supersites” or “superpods” – big, well-known locations like Disneyland and Dodger Stadium – where vaccinations will take place may occur, some as early as this week. In addition to the slow distribution of the vaccine, Southern Californians also turned to social media to express their frustrations about the lack of information about how, when and where to get vaccinated.
Supersites to speed up vaccinations
Riverside County formed an Incident Management Team on Tuesday that will work on creating several superlocations that give them the ability to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to “thousands of people instead of hundreds of people”. Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties are only open to healthcare professionals and patients in long-term care settings. On Tuesday, Orange County health officials announced that any county resident aged 65 or older is now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Disclosing this information, as well as putting vaccines in people’s arms, has been challenging, said Jose Arballo Jr., a spokesman for the Riverside County Department of Public Health. At the moment, the only way for people to stay informed is to keep an eye on the health department’s website and look for information, he said. The department is working to bring this communication to community partners, such as non-profit organizations, companies, owners’ associations and other groups, who have the ability to disseminate information to a wider group of people.
Arballo said the biggest challenge at first was the hesitation of the vaccine, but is now keeping up with demand.
“We have hundreds of people on the waiting list,” he said. “We are working to get people with the right qualifications. We are looking at nursing students, paramedics and other students that we can train, who could then equip these superpods. “
Meeting overwhelming demand
It would also help if those who are not in the current eligible categories abstain from making appointments or going to the locations, said Arballo.
“It takes time away from people who should be getting the vaccines and also slows down the process,” he said.
In Los Angeles County, health officials plan to open five supersites to speed up vaccinations for healthcare workers. The authorities predict that this expansion will allow them to complete an additional 500,000 vaccinations among healthcare professionals by the end of January. Los Angeles County expects to begin vaccinations for people 65 and older in early February and for people 50 and older, as well as younger individuals with underlying health problems in late March. These layers will also include essential workers.
Health officials face the challenge of creating a system that can deliver the vaccine quickly and efficiently to as many people as possible, said Dr. Clayton Chau, Orange County health officer and director of the county health agency. .
“The infrastructure to deliver the vaccines is the same as that of the people in charge of caring for the sick – the health care system,” he said, adding that supersites will be able to provide the infrastructure needed to meet vaccination goals.
County health officials have been overwhelmed with calls asking when they can get the vaccine, but Chau believes it “is a good headache for us” because it means that more people are open to receiving the vaccine, which will ultimately help achieve collective immunity and reopen the economy.
San Bernardino County had no ads on supersites on Tuesday. But spokesman David Wert said the county was satisfied with progress so far. He said the county received 75,900 first doses, of which it administered 38,770, calling it a “very respectable proportion”. The county received 43,625 more vaccines for second doses, he said.
Wert said he did not face any notable challenges with vaccine distribution, but that the county’s vaccination team is “discussing various strategies”.
County residents can call the COVID hotline at 909-387-3911 or visit sbcovid19.com for more information, including details on vaccination locations and how to register.
Frustrations with the system
However, getting basic information about how, when and where to be vaccinated has been frustrating for many. Teri Pearlstein, 66, of Laguna Beach, said she did not know where to register or who to contact for information.
“We need television ads, road signs and communities, telling us what to do in plain English,” she said. “I would drive to Long Beach if I could get a vaccine now, but I don’t know if I can do that. It is beyond frustrating. “
Even those who managed to get vaccinated talk about problems with registration and having to wait hours to get vaccinated. Sav Ridley, a resident of Huntington Beach, said his elderly parents had to wait three hours and 20 minutes to get vaccinations at a local vaccination post. It took her five days to get these appointments, she said.
Once inside, her parents were forced to wait in smaller rooms with about 40 other people, which she said raised concerns about infections.
“My dad said he felt safer when he waited in line than when he was inside,” said Ridley, adding that a “drive-up” system would be much safer, especially on supersites, which are probably more crowded.
Orange County health officials have encouraged residents to sign up for the Othena vaccine and test management app, but complaints have accumulated on social media that the app is not working and that they are still having trouble scheduling appointments. . This seems like the only recommended way to schedule appointments now. Only those by appointment can be vaccinated on supersites, health officials said.
A logistical challenge
Public health officials are struggling to establish the logistics because while billions of dollars were allocated to develop the vaccine, only a few hundred million were given to health departments across the country, which was simply not enough to prepare the infrastructure for the distribution of the vaccine, said Shira Shafir, associate professor of epidemiology at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health.
“Health departments are overwhelmed,” she said.
But Shafir said it is promising to see larger health departments announcing plans for supersites to help speed up the process.
“These are places like Disneyland, that people know about and there are clear ways to bring people in and out,” she said. “As soon as health departments discover their operations and increase capacity, we will start to see things improve.”