How Kaiser members can get COVID vaccine, and why some older patients may have to wait
Short vaccine supplies are stalling Kaiser Permanente’s efforts to vaccinate its 65-and-older members against COVID-19, say officials at the health system.
Kaiser is now vaccinating its members 75 and older after starting with the health care workers and the long term care staffers and patients who made up the state’s Phase 1A category.
But while the California Department of Public Health has opened vaccine eligibility to those 65 and older, and area medical groups Sutter Health, UC Davis Health and Mercy Medical Group are now vaccinating its 65-and-older members, Kaiser officials on Monday said their COVID-19 vaccine supply is “currently very limited and unpredictable,” just enough to vaccinate fewer than 5% of its California members.
Kaiser officials are urging patience on its website and telling its patients in the 65-plus tier to watch their mailboxes and email for word on how to schedule their appointments.
“Right now, supplies are extremely low, so it will take time to offer everyone a vaccine appointment,” officials are telling Kaiser members.
“We are receiving a small supply of vaccine in comparison to our membership; we have received only enough to vaccinate 4.5% of our California members,” Kaiser officials said in a Monday statement.
Kaiser Permanente serves more than 9 million members in California including 4.5 million members in Northern California.
Officials went on to say that they are told weekly how much vaccine Kaiser sites will receive. Quantities of the vaccine vary each week, the officials said, frustrating attempts to schedule appointments far in advance.
Asked whether Sacramento-area Kaiser patients were able to receive vaccinations at their home hospitals in south Sacramento and Roseville, Kaiser Northern California spokeswoman Chyresse Hill said all of Kaiser’s medical centers are giving vaccination. She also said members may be given the option to get appointments away from their home hospitals.
As of Tuesday, 269,500 doses have been provided to Kaiser, according to the health system’s website. Most of those doses — more than 241,400 — are already in patients’ arms. That is more than a third of Kaiser Permanente’s nearly 693,000 patients who are 65 years or older, the website shows.
Officials say the gap between doses supplied and given is due in part to the numbers of appointments booked.
Meantime, Kaiser members can check their vaccine status online by signing into Kaiser’s My Doctor Online with their kp.org user ID and password. Those who are not Kaiser members but want to be vaccinated at a Kaiser site can call 866-454-8855.
Californians can also visit the state’s My Turn website at myturn.ca.gov, to check on vaccine eligibility and to register for COVID-19 vaccine information.
Those without internet access can call the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 833-422-4255 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 11:44 AM.
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