Sutter resumes first-dose COVID vaccine signups in Sacramento area, Central Valley
Sutter Health has resumed scheduling first-dose appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine in the Sacramento area and Central Valley, the Northern California provider announced Tuesday.
Bookings were suspended since early February due to insufficient supply, and Sutter Health also had to reschedule about 21,000 second-dose appointments due to the issue.
“Sutter is scheduling new first-dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments for eligible patients in the Valley Area,” spokesman Gary Zavoral said in an emailed statement.
Zavoral said the valley area includes its large clinics in Sacramento, Roseville, Modesto, Stockton and Tracy.
The health network was able to cover its second-dose needs from the state’s commitment of about 30,000 doses apiece last week and this week, plus another 30,000 reallocated to Sutter Health by county and local health offices.
“As always, our ability to open new appointments remains contingent on our supply,” Zavoral added Tuesday.
Sutter patients eligible for appointments include those ages 65 or older; health workers; essential workers in sectors including food and agriculture, education and emergency services; and people with certain high-risk medical conditions.
On a call with reporters last week the CEO of Blue Shield — the insurance company hired by California as third-party administrator for the state’s vaccination efforts — said shortages at Sutter Health and some University of California sites happened because the state lacked up-to-date information on vaccine inventories before Blue Shield stepped in.
Blue Shield CEO Paul Markovich said this meant the state “thought those organizations had a lot of inventory” when, in reality, they did not.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 12:50 PM.
