COVID vaccine update: Here’s how many doses have been administered in California, Sacramento
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 California Department of Public Health on its vaccine tracker reported Wednesday that providers have administered 2,730,262 out of about 4.73 million that have been distributed to hospital systems and local health offices, an increase by 142,526 from the total reported Tuesday. About 162,000 additional doses have been ordered but not yet shipped, CDPH says.
The state reported increases of about 116,000 doses from Sunday to Monday and 150,000 from Monday to Tuesday. All rates are big increases compared to earlier weeks in the rollout, but it remains unclear what portion of growth comes from data reporting improvements as opposed to shots actually being injected.
On Wednesday, California began providing a county-by-county breakdown for the number of shots administered, giving the most detailed look yet at how the rollout is proceeding at local levels.
About 150,000 shots have been administered across four counties in the Sacramento area, where about 2.4 million people live. The region’s ratio is close to that of California as a whole, where just over 2.7 million shots have been given across a population of about 40 million. Both are a little less than seven shots per 100 residents.
The CDPH numbers are raw totals without distinction between first and second doses. But according to federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, providers statewide have given far more first than second doses: More than 2.15 million have received one dose and approximately 418,000 have received both doses in California.
Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines are two-dose regimens, taken three weeks and four weeks apart, respectively.
The CDC on its own tracking dashboard reported that, through Tuesday, California had administered 6,529 doses for every 100,000 residents, which ranked 14th lowest among the 50 states and D.C.
The CDC’s weekly allocations for states released Tuesday showed California will get about 77,000 more doses next week than it did this week or the previous week, which is about a 16% increase.
California is also launching a program called “My Turn” that will let Californians sign up for text or email alerts to notify that they are eligible to get the vaccine.
Here is the latest on vaccine distribution in the Sacramento area.
Doses administered in Sacramento area
These are the totals for combined first and second doses, administered through the end of Tuesday, as reported by CDPH, by recipient county of residence.
▪ Sacramento: 88,976
▪ El Dorado: 11,043
▪ Placer: 34,854
▪ Yolo: 15,229
Sacramento health offices, clinics
These are direct allotments to local health departments, according to each county.
Counties in which multi-county hospital systems, such as Kaiser Permanente or Sutter Health, have little or no presence may be receiving larger direct allocations relative to their populations, which are then distributed down to hospital systems that only operate in a single county.
Most county health offices are splitting their direct allocations between their own county-run clinics, non-chain hospitals and other partners, including some Safeway pharmacies.
Sacramento
▪ Phase: 1A (front-line health workers; long-term care residents)
▪ Received: 16,350 doses, as of Jan. 14.
▪ Administered: 15,115 doses (92% of received).
Dr. Olivia Kasirye, the county’s health officer, told The Sacramento Bee that last week’s original allocation of just 975 doses was a mistake; the state ultimately cleared the way for another 5,700 doses.
Sacramento County was slated to get about 13,000 doses this week, Kasirye said.
El Dorado
▪ Phase: 1A and 1B (adults 65 and older; essential workers in some sectors).
▪ Received: 16,700 doses, as of Thursday.
▪ Administered: Not reported.
El Dorado said last week it expects to directly receive 2,375 doses this week.
Placer
▪ Phase: 1A; 1B in “extremely limited supply.”
▪ Received: 14,525 first doses and 8,750 second doses, as of Jan. 8.
▪ Administered: “Nearly 10,000” total doses by county-run clinics and “about 2,500” through partnerships with Safeway pharmacies, Health and Human Services official Michael Romero estimated during a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.
Yolo
▪ Received: “Around 6,050 first doses and 4,450 second doses,” county spokeswoman Jenny Tan said in a Monday video briefing.
▪ Administered: 5,331 first doses (88% of received) and 1,456 second doses (33%), as of last Friday.
Hospital systems
Hospital systems operating in multiple counties received their own allocations from the state. These make up most of the rest of the total for shots administered to county residents not provided directly through county clinics and partnerships. A large portion of Phase 1A shots are still being given to front-line health workers.
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 two weeks ago.
On its website last week, 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. The system says it will follow CDC and CDPH guidelines.
Kaiser Permanente said in an update to its patient website two weeks ago that it had “limited” vaccine appointments available for health workers; long-term care residents and staff; and those age 65 and older. But in an update to the Kaiser website early last week, the 65-or-older category was no longer listed as eligible for appointments.
This week, Kaiser clarified that “very limited” supplies mean the hospital system is still prioritizing those 75 and older.
“State guidelines expanded to include (ages 65 to 74), but supply is still very limited,” a portion of Kaiser’s COVID-19 vaccine website now reads. “As more supplies become available to meet this need, we’ll send you a letter or email with instructions for scheduling your appointment. You don’t need to contact us. We’re starting with adults 75 and older.”
Sutter Health is continuing to schedule appointments for patients age 75 or older. Sutter Health on its website says it is “prioritizing patients who are highest risk according to government guidance.”
Sutter recently added a note on its webpage saying, “multiple vaccination locations are opening across Northern California,” but no more specific details were available.
Dignity Health said it has started “pilot vaccination clinics” for Mercy Medical Group patients ages 75 and over and is planning additional clinics to “expand access to patients who are 65 and older with high-risk medical conditions.”
Mercy Medical Group says it will be proactively contacting patients who meet these criteria.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 12:33 PM.
