State allocates more COVID vaccine to Stanislaus County. Who will get the shots?
Almost 15,000 vaccine doses have now been allocated to Stanislaus County, pushing forward an effort to vaccinate health care workers and other priority groups against COVID-19.
The 14,925 doses for this county includes the 3,900 provided in a California Department of Public Health allocation earlier in December.
Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente receive their allocations directly from the state to vaccinate nurses and other staff at their hospitals. Sutter’s Memorial Medical Center and the Kaiser hospital in north Modesto have been swamped with COVID-19 patients during the recent surge.
Kamlesh Kaur, a spokesperson for the county Health Services Agency, said the county distributes the coronavirus vaccines to other hospitals that don’t get it directly from the state.
California is in the first phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, which reserves the doses for hospitals, nursing homes, medical first responders and dialysis centers.
The latest state update this week showed 1.67 million doses of two-step Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been allocated to local jurisdictions and hospital networks that serve multiple counties. The update showed 91,650 doses going to long-term care care facilities through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program.
CVS Health is lining up dates for administering the Pfizer vaccine at nursing homes and assisted living centers in Stanislaus County. Kaur estimated that around 80 percent of local long-term care facilities have signed up for vaccinations. Walgreens is also involved in the federal effort to vaccinate nursing home employees and patients.
First shots at Modesto facility next week
Casa De Modesto Retirement Center is scheduled for a Jan. 7 visit from a CVS team to administer the first round of Pfizer vaccine to residents and staff members.
Executive Director Curt Willems said the second shots will be given three weeks later on Jan. 28. He said 60 residents and 69 employees signed up for the voluntary vaccination. The process requires a doctor’s order for patients and consent forms signed by residents or family members.
Willems said an in-house survey revealed that 50 to 60 percent of the 160 staff members at Casa De Modesto want to roll up their sleeves, while some prefer to wait and see what happens with peers getting the first shots. A third visit from CVS may be necessary to complete the two-dose vaccinations.
The possible side effects of the vaccination are a temporary headache, fever or pain where the shot was received.
“I would have liked to have had it a few weeks ago, but I am pleased it’s not going to be in the middle of (2021),” Willems said. “By the end of January, all of our residents and staff will have the opportunity to receive the vaccine.”
Casa de Modesto mostly kept the coronavirus at bay for months and then an outbreak starting in August infected skilled nursing patients, leading to 16 deaths at the nonprofit center. A total of 41 residents of Casa de Modesto have tested positive over the months and one assisted living resident died.
According to the facility’s website, the center has one current case from the skilled nursing section. Of the 55 employees who have tested positive since May when federal reporting requirements began, 53 have recovered.
Willems said he’s relieved the pharmacy company, with its equipment and trained personnel, is available to administer the vaccine, which must be used within five hours of removal from cold storage. It would be difficult for nursing homes to handle coronavirus vaccinations on their own, Willems said, adding that residents can’t be taken to a hospital to get the shots.
As of Tuesday, the state said close to 11,000 doses have been administered to hospital workers and other priority groups in Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Calaveras and seven other counties grouped together in a region.
Coronavirus vaccines will be made available to other vulnerable people as it becomes available and as the logistics are worked out. Top health experts believe the general public could have access to vaccinations by April.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 12:55 PM.
