COVID vaccine rollout: Latest numbers, updates for California and the Sacramento area
California is weeks into a mass vaccination campaign to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, administering tens of thousands of shots a day.
The effort has been frustrating. As of Friday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported California had administered 1,072,959 of the more than 3.5 million doses received from the federal government. That’s 2,716 doses for every 100,000 residents, one of the lowest rates in the U.S.
The CDC did not update state-level vaccine data over the weekend or on Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
The California Department of Public Health on its own vaccine tracker reported that providers through Sunday had administered 1,393,224 doses, out of about 3.2 million that have been distributed to hospital systems and local health departments. State Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly said during a Tuesday news conference that California has now administered more than 1.52 million vaccine doses to date.
CDPH classifies the state’s 58 counties into six vaccination regions. Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties are included in Region 4. CDPH reports that 75,011 vaccine doses had been administered in Region 4 through Sunday, up from 53,779 vaccine doses as of last Wednesday. That’s about 21,000 new doses administered in four days, or a little over 5,000 a day during that span.
The CDC on Friday began providing data for first doses vs. second doses: At least 865,000 Californians have received one dose and about 204,000 have received both doses, according to federal data. Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines are two-dose regimens, taken three weeks and four weeks apart, respectively.
Here is the latest on vaccine distribution in the Sacramento area.
County health offices, clinics
Sacramento
▪ Phase: 1A (front-line health workers; long-term care residents)
▪ Received: 16,350 doses, as of Thursday.
▪ Administered: 15,115 doses (92% of received).
Sacramento County said in a Thursday status update it has only been directly allocated 975 doses for this week.
“Sacramento County will not be able to accommodate all requests for vaccination between the continued need in Phase 1A frontline workers, as well as the addition of those who are 65 years old and older,” the county said.
El Dorado
▪ Phase: 1A and 1B (adults 65 and older; essential workers in some sectors).
▪ Received: 14,025 doses, as of Thursday.
▪ Administered: Not reported.
El Dorado County has scheduled appointments at its public health clinics in Placerville and South Lake Tahoe for residents in phases 1A and 1B. Both are booked through mid-February, according to the county website. Proof of residency in El Dorado County is required.
Placer
▪ Phase: 1A; 1B in “extremely limited supply.”
▪ Received: 14,525 first doses and 8,750 second doses, as of Jan. 8.
▪ Administered: Not reported.
Yolo
▪ Phase: 1A
▪ Received: 4,750 first doses, as of Jan. 11; second doses not reported.
▪ Administered: 4,246 first doses (89% of received) and 1,053 second doses, as of Thursday.
Yolo County on Monday confirmed that it received “some” vaccine doses from a batch that has been put on hold “due to higher than average allergic reactions.” These have been pulled from distribution before any were administered in the county, officials said, but the result will be likely delays in Yolo’s rollout.
The county in a news release Tuesday said it will likely move into Phase 1B, including adults ages 65 and older, “in the coming weeks” but that Yolo “will run out” of doses in the next week unless the state offers a larger allocation.
Yolo health officer Dr. Aimee Sisson wrote in a prepared statement that California’s expanded eligibility to those 65 and up “is incongruent with the current reality of extremely limited vaccine supply.” Sisson said “several thousand” health workers in Phase 1A still need to be vaccinated.
“When we do begin vaccinating in Phase 1B, we will have to sub-prioritize residents because there are tens of thousands of county residents who are 65 and older, and only a few hundred doses coming in each week from the State,” she said.
Hospital systems
UC Davis Health says on its website it has vaccinated more than 11,000 of its employees and students. It started vaccinations for adults ages 75 and older last week.
On its website Tuesday morning, UC Davis Health said it would begin making appointments for those ages 65 to 74 “once everyone who wants a vaccine” in the 75-and-over group has received one.
Kaiser Permanente said in an update to its patient website last Thursday it had “limited” vaccine appointments available for health workers; long-term care residents and staff; and those age 65 and older.
But in a Monday update to the Kaiser website, the 65-or-older category was no longer listed as eligible for appointments.
Sutter Health has started scheduling appointments for patients age 75 or older and says on its website it is in the early stages of planning appointments for adults ages 65 and older.
Dignity Health said it is started “pilot vaccination clinics” for Mercy Medical Group patients ages 75 and over last week and is planning additional clinics this week, “and will expand access to patients who are 65 and older with high-risk medical conditions.”
Mercy Medical Group will be proactively contacting patients who meet these criteria, according to a Tuesday update.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 9:47 AM.
