COVID vaccine updates: California gets 5% supply boost, Sacramento now in 1B phase
California is about eight 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 Tuesday that providers have administered 3,649,440 out of about 5.78 million doses that have been distributed to hospital systems and local health offices, an increase of 126,329 administered doses since Monday’s update. The state added about 89,000 shots from Sunday to Monday.
The CDPH numbers don’t distinguish between first and second doses. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data updated Tuesday, about 83% of California’s shots given have been first doses: more than 2.94 million.
The COVID-19 vaccines currently available require two shots. Pfizer’s is taken three weeks apart and Moderna’s four weeks apart.
The CDC on its tracking dashboard reported that California through Monday had administered 8,969 doses for every 100,000 residents, which ranked 15th lowest among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The total reported by CDPH on Tuesday works out to 9,094 per 100,000.
The CDC also on Tuesday released its allocation data for next week. California is slated to receive about a 5% boost over this week’s total, with an increase of nearly 30,000 Moderna doses, pushing it from about 564,000 to 594,000. The federal government gave California 486,000 doses each of the previous two weeks.
Hospital systems and public health clinics have been expanding access. Sacramento County in a Monday update to its vaccination schedule says it has formally entered Phase 1B of the rollout, giving shots to some people ages 65 and older as well as to law enforcement and emergency services workers while also continuing to vaccinate health workers in Phase 1A.
UC Davis Medical Center and Mercy Medical Group also recently started vaccinating patients ages 65 and older.
The county’s two other major health providers, Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health, continue to offer appointments only for those 75 and older along with 1A health workers.
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 Monday, as reported by CDPH, by recipient county of residence.
▪ Sacramento: 119,962 (7,561 doses per 100,000 residents)
▪ El Dorado: 16,973 (8,790 doses per 100,000)
▪ Placer: 46,254 (11,551 doses per 100,000)
▪ Yolo: 19,326 (8,643 doses per 100,000)
It is unknown how many residents of each county have been fully vaccinated, because neither CDPH nor individual counties in the Sacramento area have given comprehensive figures for first doses vs. second doses.
Placer County continues to fare by far the best in the immediate capital region in terms of doses per 100,000 residents, while Sacramento County remains about 16% below the statewide average, according to CDPH data.
It’s unclear to what extent reporting delays play a factor in county-to-county differences.
Local health offices, public clinics
Local health departments in the capital region are receiving several thousand doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines on a weekly basis, according to each 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 in Placer and El Dorado counties.
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 to hospital systems that only operate in a single county.
Sacramento
▪ Phase: 1A (front-line health workers; long-term care residents) and 1B (adults 65 and older; essential workers in some sectors)
▪ Received directly: 16,350 doses, last updated Jan. 14.
▪ Administered: 15,115 doses (92% of received).
The county has started offering vaccine appointments for those 65-and-older via clinics at the Sacramento State campus and at California Northstate University in Elk Grove, but all appointments at those sites this week have been fully booked with no dates announced yet for the next round.
County residents ages 65 and older can fill out “vaccine interest” registrations online to be notified regarding availability, but county officials warn that the wait for many residents could be more than a month — perhaps multiple months — due to very limited supply.
Both the Sacramento State and Northstate sites are walk-thru clinics rather than drive-thru, and both offer only the Pfizer vaccine, which means a three-week wait for the second dose.
El Dorado
▪ Received: 19,875 doses, as of Friday.
▪ Administered: Not reported.
El Dorado County officials in a recent FAQ said all appointments through its public health office clinics and Safeway pharmacy partners have been booked through mid-February.
“After that point, we plan to hold some 65+ only and 75+ only drive-thru clinics as we receive shipments from the State,” the county wrote.
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 on Jan. 26.
Placer County recently expanded eligibility at its public health office clinic in Roseville to include “education, childcare and emergency services workers employed in Placer County,” but supply remains scarce and first-come, first-serve appointment spots fill extremely fast.
Information on county-run clinics in Placer is available at www.placer.ca.gov/vaccineclinics.
Yolo
▪ Received: “Around 8,000” first doses and 4,550 second doses, county spokeswoman Jenny Tan said Monday.
▪ Administered: “About 7,000” first doses and at least 2,046 second doses, Tan said. Yolo’s vaccination webpage shows first doses at around 5,300, but Tan said data from multiple county-run clinics last week have not yet been entered into the system.
Yolo says it entered Phase 1B this week but within that phase is prioritizing clinics for residents ages 75 and older who do not have health insurance.
Hospital systems
Hospital systems operating in multiple counties receive their own allocations from the state.
Most of the earliest of these shots went to health workers, but priority is being expanded to patients in the 65-plus and 75-plus age groups.
UC Davis Health officials recently told The Bee the system has vaccinated more than 22,000 people so far, including more than 11,000 employees and students plus more than 10,000 patients.
It started vaccinations for adults ages 75 and older in mid-January and according to its website is now reaching out to its patients 65 and older to schedule appointments.
UC Davis Health is averaging 1,000 shots a day at its main hospital in Sacramento and will open a second site this week. Both are appointment-only.
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 said that as of last Friday it had administered “over 1,800 vaccines so far” to patients in the Sacramento area during pilot clinics that began the week of Jan. 11. Mercy says it will give about 2,400 this week and plans to increase capacity to handle “3,000+ shots weekly.”
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.”
Sutter this week is opening centers in Sacramento and Roseville. Officials are not disclosing exact locations for these sites to the general public, because they don’t want people to show up without appointments.
Kaiser Permanente is focusing initial inoculations on those ages 75 and older.
“As more supplies become available to meet this need, we’ll send you a letter or email with instructions for scheduling your appointment,” Kaiser Permanente says on its website. “You don’t need to contact us. We’re starting with adults 75 and older.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 12:05 PM.
