COVID vaccine updates: Sacramento-area hospital system opens appointments for 65-plus
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 Friday that providers have administered 3,078,250 out of about 4.76 million doses that have been distributed to hospital systems and local health offices, a record-high increase of 184,757 doses administered compared to the previous day.
About 672,000 additional doses are marked as “ordered” but not yet shipped, CDPH says.
The state reported increases of about 143,000 from Tuesday to Wednesday and 163,000 from Wednesday to Thursday. It remains unclear how much of the growth comes from recent data reporting improvements as opposed to shots actually being injected.
The CDPH numbers are raw totals without distinction between first and second doses. According to federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 83% of California’s shots given have been first doses: over 2.41 million, compared to about 488,000 second doses statewide.
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 Thursday, California had administered 7,366 doses for every 100,000 residents, which ranked 13th lowest among the 50 states and D.C. CDPH’s higher reported total of more than 3 million doses works out to about 7,672 per 100,000.
California is 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.
How many doses have been given across Sacramento area?
These are the totals for combined first and second doses, administered through the end of Thursday, as reported by CDPH, by recipient county of residence.
▪ Sacramento: 98,621 (6,290 doses per 100,000 residents)
▪ El Dorado: 13,077 (6,772 per 100,000)
▪ Placer: 38,318 (9,569 per 100,000)
▪ Yolo: 15,634 (7,360 per 100,000)
Placer County continues to fare best in the immediate capital region, and near the top among all 58 California counties, in doses given per 100,000 residents. It did fall from No. 4 on Thursday to No. 6, edged out by Butte and Mendocino counties.
The Bay Area counties of Napa (13,078 per 100,000), Marin (11,196) and Contra Costa (9,854) remain the Top 3.
Placer is the only county in the four-county region administering doses at a higher rate than the statewide average, at about 25% more per capita than California as a whole. Yolo County is 4% below the statewide rate, El Dorado County about 12% lower and Sacramento County about 18% lower.
It’s unclear how many residents of each county have been vaccinated because CDPH as of Friday has not released county-level data on first doses vs. second doses.
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 directly: 16,350 doses, as of Jan. 14.
▪ Administered: 15,115 doses (92% of received).
El Dorado
▪ Phase: 1A and 1B (adults 65 and older; essential workers in some sectors).
▪ Received: 16,700 doses, as of Jan. 21.
▪ Administered: Not reported.
El Dorado County on Thursday canceled vaccine appointments at its public health clinic in South Lake Tahoe due to extreme snow in the forecast.
Those who had appointments set for today will be contacted to reschedule for next Tuesday.
Placer
▪ Phase: 1A; 1B in “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
▪ Phase: 1A “ending soon”; early 1B “in February”
▪ 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.
Yolo County in an update Thursday said it will begin the first tier of Phase 1B, vaccinating residents 75 and older first, in February.
“Starting February 2021, Yolo County will be vaccinating residents 75+ because they are the most vulnerable out of those who are 65+,” the county said on a flyer. “The County will first focus on the most underserved areas based on socio-economic vulnerability.”
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.
Dignity Health in an update Friday said vaccines are “now available for patients who have a Mercy Medical Group primary care physician and who are 65 and older.”
Mercy Medical Group says it has administered “over 1,800 vaccines so far” to patients in the Sacramento area since starting pilot clinics Jan. 11, “with plans to increase our capacity to 3,000+ shots weekly.”
Mercy Medical Group patients ages 75 and over, and those 65 and older with high-risk medical conditions, have been given vaccines at four weekly clinics in Sacramento County: in Citrus Heights, Folsom, midtown Sacramento and Elk Grove.
The provider says it will be proactively contacting patients who meet the eligibility criteria.
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.”
Dr. Mike Conroy, Chief Medical Officer of Sutter Medical Group, said in an email to The Bee that the provider on Saturday will open two vaccination “hubs,” one in Sacramento and one in Roseville, that will support “well over 2,000 vaccinations a day once fully operational.”
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.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 12:15 PM.
