The COVID-19 vaccine substation near Petco Park will close again on Saturday due to a severe shortage of doses.
UC San Diego Health operates the substation, and CEO Patty Maysent told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the closure will last until the weekend and Tuesday, meaning that the site will reopen at least on Wednesday .
Anyone with an appointment during that period will receive a message through MyChart, the health care’s electronic notification system, and will be automatically rescheduled as soon as UCSD knows that more vaccine is on the way. For now, says Maysent, the plan is to postpone all consultations by four days, but the actual delay may be longer (or slightly shorter) depending on the offer.
“It is very difficult,” she said. “Giving a vaccine is the antidote to the worst exhaustion you can imagine. It has been difficult for everyone. In particular, it is difficult for patients ”.
The health care system is in contact with state and local authorities, looking for any doses it can get – including doses in other counties that are not moving quickly to arms. Maysent added that on Friday, UCSD transferred more than 6,000 doses of its own supply to the Petco Park site and used more than 10,000 of its own doses to operate the superstation in recent weeks.
It will be the third closure of the super season, which immunized more than 119,000 San Diegans – about two out of nine people who were vaccinated in the county.
Other superstores and smaller locations throughout the region will continue to operate, according to county spokesman Mike Workman.
The closure marks an abrupt reversal of the optimism that county officials projected during the weekly coronavirus briefing. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to decline, with the county approaching the return of outdoor sports to high schools – and, shortly thereafter, the limited use of indoor restaurants and gyms.
“This is one of the first times that I feel like we are coming to you with a number of things that are generally good news,” said Supervisor Fletcher at the beginning of Wednesday’s briefing.
That good news included the announcement that San Diegans are working in emergency services; child care and education; and food and agriculture would be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine starting Saturday.
Approximately 500,000 people fall into these groups, from agricultural workers to security guards and daycare centers. And while many of them will be inoculated through targeted outreach programs, the county confirmed on Thursday that soon eligible san diegans can schedule appointments at more than 20 vaccination sites across the county.
But finding a compromise will not be easy, as the closure of the Petco Park substation highlights a frustrating fact: the demand for vaccines continues to exceed supply.
The county’s current supply is prioritized for residents of San Diegans who need their second doses, as two doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are needed to maximize immunity against the coronavirus.
According to the county vaccine panel, as of midday on Friday, some 321,000 San Diegans have received their first injection, but still need the second dose. Until they have both photos, many of the new qualified groups will have a hard time scheduling appointments.
The schedule for completing second doses, of course, depends on the vaccine delivery. It is unclear when the next batch of the county’s Modern vaccine will arrive. On Wednesday, Fletcher said the county is lucky to know how much vaccine is coming in three days – not to mention President Joe Biden’s three-week projections promised to states and territories.
There has been considerable confusion about exactly how many doses the county has on hand. On Friday, the Times of San Diego reported that the county has nearly 100,000 doses available to administer and has recently received a considerable load of new doses. But Workman told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the county has not received such a referral and that there are already appointments for all ‘available’ doses noted on the county panel.
In other words, this supply is guaranteed.
Other local health systems are also facing difficulties. Scripps Health operates vaccine clinics for its own patients and operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds superstation. But it is difficult to sustain these efforts without a steady stream of vaccines, says Dr. Ghazala Sharieff, chief medical officer for the healthcare system for clinical excellence and experience.
“How do you plan something when you can’t have leftovers (doses), but then you don’t know what you’re going to get next week?” Sharieff said. “I don’t care what you’re going to give me – just give it to me ahead of time, so I can plan every day and be a little more logical.”
UT staff writer Paul Sisson contributed reporting.