Sacramento gets biggest vaccine allotment yet, but growing supply still trails demand
The day has finally arrived for many more Californians: residents 50 through 64 are eligible to sign up for COVID-19 vaccination regardless of job sector or health condition.
The expansion is the first of two planned for April. On April 15, the state will open eligibility to everyone 16 and older.
Sacramento-area health officials continue to caution, though, that supply limitations mean it will still take a while for everyone who wants a vaccine to be able to sign up for their shots.
Supply has ramped up in California, but Sacramento County health officials caution they are still only getting their allocation totals from the state one week in advance. Likewise, states only receive their federal allocation numbers a week ahead of the shipments.
These short-term allocation forecasts make it difficult to predict exactly how large the supply gap may be on April 15, when the eligible population greatly expands.
Supply can also change on the fly. The county late last week expected to receive about 20,000 doses this week, then got a call Saturday from the state saying it could provide thousands more Johnson & Johnson doses, bringing the total to nearly 30,000.
Health officials in a briefing with reporters Thursday morning said Sacramento County expects to receive 33,000 doses next week: 11,700 from Pfizer, 9,200 from Moderna and 12,100 of the single-dose J&J vaccine.
That’s the county’s largest allotment to date, and by far the biggest allocation of J&J doses, which were shipped in very limited amounts last month after receiving emergency authorization at the end of February.
Sacramento County health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye urged patience for those looking for appointments as eligibility expands, as there will not be enough slots for everyone who is qualified. Kasirye said those seeking vaccination through a county-run clinic should check the county’s website at dhs.saccounty.net often for updated information and appointment links.
Kasirye also reminded that of the three approved vaccines, only Pfizer’s has been approved up at this time for use in people ages 16 and 17, meaning populations in that specific age group may face an additional supply constraint when eligibility expands mid-April.
Residents who are patients of a local health network such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health or UC Davis Health can sign up for appointments through those hospital systems, which receive their own supply allocations separate from the county’s.
County health coordinator Rachel Allen said that though precise numbers aren’t clear beyond next week, the projection is that the total number of doses will be “fairly flat” over the next few weeks.
To date, about 237,000 Sacramento County residents are fully vaccinated and 418,000 have had at least one dose, according to state health data updated Thursday morning. The county has a population of about 1.56 million, roughly 80% of whom are 16 or older.
Allen also said this week marked Sacramento’s first of working jointly with insurance company Blue Shield, which California hired as third-party administrator for vaccinations. Allen said the county and Blue Shield will continue to work in tandem for a few weeks; then, Blue Shield will take command.
Sacramento County has seen a slight uptick in cases in recent weeks. Kasirye attributed the uptick to clusters of cases linked to youth sports starting up. She said concern is lower about a major surge than previous upticks because of the vaccines.
“We started off vaccinating long-term care facilities where in previous surges we had large outbreaks,” Kasirye said. “This time around because of the vaccination, we feel that there’s much better control. But definitely there is some concern because of the uptick, so we continue to monitor that.”
Mayor Steinberg gets the vaccine
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg got the J&J shot Thursday morning at the Wellspace Health clinic on Alhambra Boulevard.
WellSpace, a network of federally qualified community clinics in NorCal, has been offering 600 or more shots a week by appointment to people on Medicare or who don’t have insurance, including people experiencing homelessness.
Steinberg said he wants to send a message for people to get their shots, echoing the message being delivered by the health community: getting the shots means getting back to normal life.
“It was not a big deal and within two weeks I am no longer going to be at risk of hospitalization or death,” Steinberg said, referring to there being no hospitalizations or deaths from the virus recorded among recipients in the clinical trials for any of the three authorized vaccines. “That’s an enormous relief.”
For those afraid of needles: “I didn’t even feel it,” the mayor said. “Easiest shot I’ve ever gotten.”
“Let’s get it done and let’s get back to hugging your loved ones. This is important to get back to the lives we knew.”
California vaccination by the numbers
The state on Wednesday hit 18 million total doses administered, as well as 12 million people having received at least one dose.
By Thursday, providers in California had given more than 18.4 million doses to about 12.3 million people. The state reports it has injected 78% of the 23.5 million doses delivered by manufacturers.
CDPH reported Thursday 6.69 million are now fully vaccinated and another 5.59 million are partially vaccinated. That means about 17% of Californians, and 22% of California adults, are fully vaccinated; and 31% of Californians plus 40% of California adults have had at least their first dose.
Gov. Gavin Newsom joined the fully vaccinated crowd Thursday morning, receiving his jab of the J&J vaccine.
California was expected this week to receive about 2.1 million doses from the three authorized manufacturers — J&J, Pfizer and Moderna.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an allocation update Tuesday said the state will get about 2.4 million doses next week, another record high. That total includes about 1.5 million first doses — 572,000 from J&J, 524,000 from Pfizer and 397,000 from Moderna — plus close to 900,000 Pfizer and Moderna second-dose shipments.
In a major blunder, a manufacturing subcontractor ruined millions of doses of the J&J vaccine due to an ingredient mistake at a plant in Baltimore. J&J has not specified the total amount affected, but the New York Times, first to report the error, reported that “up to 15 million doses” were contaminated.
Speaking after his vaccination, Newsom said California’s anticipated supply over the next three weeks will not be impacted by that plant issue. J&J doses that have already distributed across the U.S. were produced at a different plant, in the Netherlands, the Times reported.
How many are fully, partially vaccinated in Sacramento area?
These are the totals for combined first and second doses, administered through Wednesday, as reported by the state public health department, by recipient county of residence.
▪ Sacramento: 642,332 (40,966 doses per 100,000 residents)
▪ El Dorado: 85,661 (44,361 doses per 100,000)
▪ Placer: 204,178 (50,989 doses per 100,000)
▪ Yolo: 112,777 (50,434 doses per 100,000)
Placer and Yolo counties have each hit the milestone of having administered more than one dose per every two residents.
Here is what percentage of each county’s population is fully and partially vaccinated, according to CDPH data.
Figures may be undercounts due to data reporting delays.
Northern California VA locations giving vaccines
Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care is now offering COVID-19 vaccination to veterans at 11 clinic locations: Auburn, Chico, Fairfield, Mare Island, Martinez, Mather, McClellan, Oakland, Redding, Yreka and Yuba City.
Enrolled veterans are eligible regardless of age.
The Mather medical center is offering walk-in clinics from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. The remaining 10 clinics require appointments in advance.
Veterans can book appointments online using the My HealtheVet portal; or by calling 800-382-8387 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.
More details are available at northerncalifornia.va.gov.
Sacramento-area health offices, public clinics and pharmacies
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.
CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens offer vaccine appointments at some of their pharmacies across California as part of a federal retail pharmacy partnership. More details are available via those companies’ websites.
Sacramento
The drive-thru clinic at Cal Expo will be giving the single-dose J&J on Friday.
There will also be a clinic this Friday and Saturday offering Pfizer first doses in the parking lot of InnovAge PACE Program, located on Rosin Court in Sacramento, for those eligible.
Sacramento County continues to offer drive-thru vaccine clinics at McClellan Park and Natomas High School; and walk-thru clinics at California Northstate University in Elk Grove and at Sacramento State.
All clinics require appointments in advance. Scheduling and booking information can be found at dhs.saccounty.net.
Sacramento also has CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens stores participating in the federal partnership program, and the county is also partnered with 11 Safeway pharmacies.
The McClellan Park, Sacramento State and Northstate clinics offer the Pfizer vaccine, meaning a three-week wait between doses. Safeway pharmacies offer Moderna, a four-week wait.
El Dorado
El Dorado runs clinics for eligible groups at its public health offices in Placerville and South Lake Tahoe.
The county last week announced dates for the South Lake Tahoe clinic: it will give shots every Monday, Thursday and Friday now through the end of April, with the exception of Monday, April 19. Appointments are available through CalVax, at calvax.org.
The county also offers clinics for El Dorado residents ages 65 and older in the parking structure at Red Hawk Casino in Placerville on Thursdays, also available through CalVax. It will run each Thursday through at least April 22.
The Red Hawk clinic gives Pfizer shots. The South Lake Tahoe clinic uses Moderna.
Walgreens in Cameron Park and the CVS store on Palmer Drive in Cameron Park are also now offering Moderna vaccine appointments as part of the federal retail pharmacy partnership.
The county is also partnered with six Safeway stores.
More detailed information on county-run and county-partnered vaccine clinics can be found at edcgov.us/Government/hhsa/edccovid-19-clinics.
Placer
Placer offers most of its county-run clinics at The Grounds, formerly the Placer County Fairgrounds, in Roseville.
The Grounds clinic is closed Thursday and Friday due to a SacAnime swap meet at the venue.
Clinics this Monday through Wednesday will have longer hours and more appointment slots to compensate, a county spokesperson said. About 90% of appointments scheduled for this week at The Grounds were second-dose appointments, spokeswoman Katie Combs-Prichard said.
Appointment links for qualifying residents are posted as they become available at placer.ca.gov/vaccineclinics.
Placer is also partnered with eight Safeway pharmacies throughout the county.
According to the CVS website, there are stores participating in the federal vaccine partnership in Auburn and Rocklin. There may also be availability at Rite Aid and Walgreens stores; users should check with individual stores for eligibility, the county says.
Appointments can also be made at Remedy RX Pharmacy in Roseville through a local partnership.
Yolo
Yolo County’s vaccination website shows eight private county-run clinics this week as well as three public clinics.
A public clinic was recently announced at the Yocha Dehe Fire Department in Brooks. Appointments can be booked at 530-796-2500 while slots are available.
Public clinics previously announced for Friday and Saturday are fully booked.
More details regarding county-run clinics are available on the county website at yolocounty.org.
Hospital systems
Hospital systems operating in multiple counties receive their own allocations from the state.
Sutter Health has resumed the booking of first-dose appointments in the valley area — its large clinics in Sacramento, Roseville, Modesto, Stockton and Tracy — after it had suspended new appointments from early February to early March, and is booking first-dose appointments as supply allows.
Sutter says on its patient website it has administered more than 475,000 doses to date.
Kaiser Permanente is now vaccinating patients in all eligible groups, regardless of Kaiser membership. Kaiser Permanente confirms on its website it is offering vaccines to those ages 50 and older.
In an update last week, Kaiser Permanente said it had administered nearly 1.05 million of the 1.13 million doses it has received at Northern California facilities, and has more than 433,000 future appointments scheduled.
UC Davis Health is vaccinating patients in all eligible groups as defined by CDPH, including those 50 and older.
UC Davis Health is using the state’s My Turn website as well as its MyUCDavisHealth app to schedule vaccination appointments.
Dignity Health’s Mercy Medical Group says it has also begun using My Turn to schedule appointments, and is working with the state and other partners to offer vaccines to eligible Californians.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 12:32 PM.
