Where, when and how can you get a COVID vaccine in Sacramento? Key questions answered
When, where and how will you get your COVID-19 vaccine shot? That’s the biggest and most confusing question in the Sacramento region and California.
The state’s massive inoculation program is still only ramping up, a month after it started, with limited doses of the vaccine arriving on a weekly basis. There are currently not nearly enough doses to launch robust inoculations.
Meanwhile, the state is making 11th-hour changes in the priority list, which is sowing confusion. But those changes are aimed at streamlining and speeding the process in the coming weeks.
For now, health care providers are still scrambling to get injection sites and teams set up. Some are moving faster than others.
Here is the latest from state and local health officials:
Who’s getting the vaccine right now?
Front-line health care workers got first priority, starting in mid-December. Those shots are still ongoing, mainly at local hospitals, likely through the end of this month.
Shots are also being given to residents and staff of skilled nursing homes, which typically house people in their 80s and older. Some people in assisted living facilities and general senior housing have gotten shots too. Typically, those shots are being given at nursing facilities by injection teams from CVS and Walgreens.
In Sacramento and Yolo counties last week, shots expanded to include firefighters and paramedics. Those shots are being given in fire stations or at county health clinics, and will be ongoing for the next month.
Some health care systems, such as UC Davis Health, are now beginning to give shots to some of their member patients who are age 75 and up at in-house clinics they have set. Those shots are invitation and appointment only.
But Newsom announced anyone 65 an older can get shots, right?
Yes, in theory. But it’s complicated. Gov. Gavin Newsom moved that group up to a higher priority tier (Phase 1B, Tier 1), which makes them eligible for shots as soon as their health care provider has enough doses to give the shots at clinics or authorize the shots at a pharmacy.
That 65-plus announcement came as a surprise to local health officials, hospitals, health care companies and clinics. Health care officials complained that what they really need is more vaccine doses in the weekly shipments, and more staffing to get their operations up and running.
On the ground, that means it could be several weeks before Sacramento County has enough vaccines and finalized logistics to actually allow those 65 and older to sign up for appointments.
What is the vaccine priority order as of now?
According to the state Department of Public Health guidelines, any health care group or clinic that gets doses can now segue from giving the shots to front-line workers and start giving it to people in Phase 1B, Tier 1:
Phase 1B, Tier 1: People 65 and older, and those at risk of exposure at work in education, childcare, emergency services, food and agriculture. (This tier, until Wednesday’s announcement, was planned to be 75 and older, not 65 and older.)
Phase 1B, Tier 2: Those at risk who work in transportation, logistics, industrial, commercial, residential and critical manufacturing. Also, people in jails and homeless shelters.
Phase 1C: People 50 and older, people 16-49 with underlying health issues or disabilities that increase their COVID-19 severity risk. Also: those at risk who work in other areas, including government employees, defense, energy, and community-based essential functions.
After Phase 1C, younger, healthier people will get access to shots.
What is the timing for these groups?
Newsom has given the green light to counties and health care companies to start issuing shots to the lead Phase 1B group, such as people 65 and older, even before the initial groups in hospitals and skilled nursing homes are done.
That supposedly creates a faster, more efficient distribution system, and avoids wasting doses after a vial is opened. Still, few health providers and clinics have actually started giving shots to Phase 1B individuals and many don’t plan to for the next couple weeks because of limited doses.
It appears now that people in the 1B group will be getting vaccinated over the course of the next few months. Health officials say some counties, notably smaller counties, may move more quickly in vaccinating people in the 1B group.
There has been no timeline estimate yet on people in the 1C group. But they will have to sit tight for a few months.
I’m 65 or older. How do I get a vaccine?
If you are 65 or older and have a primary care doctor and health insurance, either your doctor or your health care provider, such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health or Dignity Health, should inform you via email or via their online health system website when and where you can get a shot.
You may get the shot in your doctor’s office, a clinic affiliated with your doctor or your health care system. Kaiser has talked about renting a large facility. UC Davis is giving shots to its patient members now, by invitation and appointment only, at its medical center, but is talking about setting up “pop-up” clinics around the region that its patient members can go to at some point soon.
For others who do not have insurance or who do not have a regular doctor, the situation becomes tricky.
Several community clinics — such as the Sacramento Native American Health Center and WellSpace Health — have been tapped by Sacramento County government health officials to eventually receive and distribute vaccines through drive-thru sites.
Mass community vaccination sites have yet to materialize, and the county still hasn’t given health centers doses to vaccinate Phase 1B individuals. County health officials say they are working to find more clinics and community partners to get more accessible vaccine sites up and running.
Where do I go to get my shot?
For many, the process will be similar to their annual flu shot. Some will get shots in their doctors’ offices or at a clinic affiliated with their health care provider. Some may go to pharmacies that have vaccine stations, such as CVS or Walgreens.
County officials say they plan to send vaccine doses to Safeway pharmacies as well as other supermarkets and pharmacies, such as Rite Aid.
At some point, people also may be able to go to pop-up community vaccine sites. Some of those may be run by a health care provider, such as UC Davis Health, and likely will be limited to just their member patients. Others may be run by community clinics, cooperating with county health officials, but few details have emerged.
Can I go to Cal Expo for a vaccine? How can I sign up for appointments online?
Sacramento County already has set up a drive-up clinic in an exhibition hall at Cal Expo. Newsom this week highlighted that site as a mass vaccine site. But, for now, the facility is limited to appointments for people in the initial front line health care worker group who don’t have access to the larger inoculation programs that major health systems like Kaiser, Sutter and Dignity are giving to their employees in-house.
County health officials issued a statement this week asking that the general public not come to Cal Expo. They say they hope to turn it into a larger, mass vaccination site later when the county’s weekly shipment of vaccine doses grows.
County health department officials say they hope to set up a website — likely the online vaccine management software PrepMod, hosted on the state’s CalVax website — this month where people can sign up for an appointment at a county clinic, and possibly Cal Expo, if they have not been able to get an appointment at their doctor or health care providers’ sites.
Placer County, for example, announced Thursday that private pharmacies and public clinics would make an “extremely limited supply” of vaccines for those 65 and older, and Phase 1A individuals. Qualifying residents can sign up for online appointments at one of eight Safeway pharmacies, or at the county fairgrounds.
What if I’m not in a priority group?
Younger, healthier people who are not working in essential industries may not get word until this summer, but the moment could come sooner depending on how fast vaccine production and distribution speeds up.
Newsom said in November that mass vaccination wasn’t likely to occur soon. “March, April, June, July,” he said. “That’s where we start to scale.”
We may get an update from the state soon: California officials plan to release additional guidance for future groups that will be eligible for vaccines over the coming weeks and months.
What’s Sutter Health doing?
Sutter Health sent an email last week to members saying it will begin offering shots this week to patients who are 75 and older, and to other community health care workers.
Sutter Health told The Bee it will prioritize those groups for now “due to their significantly higher risk,” and will move forward on others, such as people 65 and older, when it gets official guidance from state health officials, and when Sutter has “capacity to expand vaccination to this significantly larger population.”
Sutter members can make appointments through Sutter’s online patient portal, My Health Online, or via a dedicated hotline: 1-844-987-6115. For now, those vaccines will be offered at Sutter clinics, not at Sutter doctors’ offices.
Sutter this week called on members to be patient.
What about vaccines for Kaiser members?
Kaiser issued this statement to The Bee on Thursday morning: “Successfully delivering the vaccine to people 65-and-older, as well as continuing to vaccinate health care workers, depends on getting access to adequate supplies of vaccine.
“Kaiser Permanente is committed to act as quickly as possible to provide vaccine to those who are eligible, but given the current limited supply of vaccine nationally it is important to know that not everyone who is eligible will be able to make an appointment right away.
“Kaiser Permanente is reaching out to members who are 65 and older to provide information about vaccine availability and how to schedule a vaccination appointment, and we will be updating the kp.org/covid website as new information becomes available.
“Currently, appointments can be made by telephone and we expect high call volumes.
“By the end of next week, Kaiser Permanente expects to have online self-service tools in place that will allow eligible individuals the opportunity to schedule an appointment if vaccine supply is available.”
What about Dignity Health?
Dignity told The Bee it is starting “pilot vaccination clinics for Mercy Medical Group patients ages 75 and over this week, focusing on those with medical conditions putting them at high risk for COVID complications.”
“We are proactively reaching out to our MMG patients in this category. Patients should not call to attempt to schedule an appointment. We are scaling up as fast as possible, to eventually include those 65 and over.
“Patients should watch our website for updated information and instructions at: https://www.dignityhealth.org/sacramento/medical-group/mercy-medical-group.
“We do expect to receive more doses of the vaccine every week, so the number of people who can get the vaccine will increase exponentially very quickly.
“Additionally, our physicians are partnering with Sacramento County Public Health and Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society to provide community vaccination opportunities for Phase 1a persons — first responders, prison workers, staff at dialysis centers and medical offices – those at a higher risk of being exposed to COVID due to their occupation.
What about UC Davis Health?
UC Davis Health on Tuesday began giving shots to its members age 75 and older and is continuing to do that in a pop-up clinic it set up in a building on its Stockton Boulevard medical center campus.
Davis officials say they have a list of 23,000 members who are 75 and older that they are contacting, setting up appointments, in roughly a priority order of those who have the worst underlying conditions, making them more vulnerable to bad cases of the virus.
UC Davis Health officials have not yet reacted to the governor’s announcement that people age 65 and older can move up on the list.
An official with the UC Davis Health system this week told The Bee the group intends to set up pop-up vaccination sites around Northern California for its members, but needs to get more doses of the vaccine.
The site says members will receive a vaccine appointment invitation through the MyUCDavisHealth app to schedule a vaccination.
When will teachers get vaccinated?
They are in the 1B group. That means some may be able to get shots soon, but given the limited doses arriving, vaccines are not likely for most teachers until some time in February in Sacramento.
Some school districts may be able to handle their own vaccinations, if they get state health officials’ OK. If so, they likely will get doses from the county health department.
The Folsom Cordova Unified School District might be among those who can handle vaccinations themselves at one of their facilities, because the district qualifies under federal health rules as a Vaccines For Children program provider.
Sacramento City Unified School District officials say they are in talks now with county health officials about the school district setting up their own in-house vaccinations for staff and teachers. There is no date yet to launch those shots though. School officials say they will contact employees when the program gets set up.
Sac City and Elk Grove schools officials report some of their nursing and health staff already are getting shots. Some of those staffers then likely will give vaccinations to others.
Other school districts may arrange a deal with some private clinics to handle vaccinations for employees. Teachers, on their own, may able to go to their private hospital for a vaccination — but few health providers have made it clear when or how they will open up vaccines based on employment. It’s also unclear how 1B individuals who qualify because of their job will verify their employment.
Will people cut the vaccine line?
Already, there have been complaints at hospitals of people who are not front-line workers getting vaccines. There is fear that some patients will be able to get their doctors to OK them for shots on the basis of underlying conditions that really aren’t adding to their risk factor.
There also appears to be confusion over what kind of proof a person will need to offer, for instance, that they work in an industry that qualifies for a shot.
Sacramento County officials say they have not yet decided on protocols.
Will my employer provide me the vaccine?
Maybe. Employers will have to reach agreements with local health care systems or the county health department to obtain some vaccines.
Farm and agriculture workers, in Phase 1B, may qualify for vaccines in a matter of weeks under the state guidelines. The United Farm Workers Foundation is working on a plan with California-based Monterey Mushrooms and a local clinic to run a mobile vaccination site for farm workers, according to spokeswoman Leydy Rangel.
Still, most farm workers are in the dark about where and when they can get a vaccine, Rangel said. “There’s a lot of unclarity.”
Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said her agency has not yet gotten that far in its planning, but will begin this week.
What about people who do not have medical insurance?
Federal health officials have repeatedly said that the COVID-19 vaccine will be free to anyone who wants it this year. The federal government has created a fund to reimburse hospitals and medical providers for the cost of vaccinating those without insurance.
Several community clinics have already received vaccines and given them to their staff, such as the Sacramento Native American Health Center, and many could eventually start distributing vaccines to both member patients and general eligible community residents — so long as they continue to receive a steady stream of doses.
“We will be vaccinating the community and our patient population, similar to the flu, as soon as possible,” said SNAHC’s medical director Dr. Hakeem Adeniyi.
Early in the pandemic, public health officials envisioned easily accessible massive drive-thru vaccination hubs in sprawling parking lots drawing in hundreds of residents.
But logistical challenges — such as having sufficient cold storage — and limited doses means many essential workers and at-risk residents will receive their vaccines at existing well-resourced community clinics and pharmacies scattered across the county in the coming months.
Are many people refusing to get the vaccine?
Hesitancy in the vaccine has deeply troubled public health officials. A study in November by COVID Collaborative, NAACP, and UnidosUS found just 14% of Black Americans and 34% of Latino Americans trusted the vaccine.
Up to half of skilled nursing home employees are refusing the vaccines, according to Deborah Pacyna, spokeswoman for the California Association of Health Facilities.
UC Davis Health officials said this week that so far 12,000 of their 14,000 health care employees have taken the vaccine. About 400 have refused. Another 1,000 are waiting to decide.
Reluctance among California’s most vulnerable residents and workers only delays reaching the goal of herd immunity.
It is true that the COVID-19 vaccines are the fastest vaccines ever created, but that is in large part due to new mRNA technology. The vaccines have gone through rigorous testing and trials, health officials say.
When does the vaccine start protecting me?
Full protection kicks in several weeks after the second dose of the vaccine, according to Sacramento County health official Rachel Allen.
That’s only 95% protection, though, so health officials will likely be pushing for mask wearing and other safety measures until about 75% of adults, age 16-plus, get the vaccine, achieving what is called herd immunity, the point where it is unlikely the virus will spread any more.
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 11:49 AM.