More COVID-19 vaccination clinics scheduled next week. Here’s what you need to know.
Stanislaus County will hold COVID-19 vaccination clinics from Wednesday to Saturday next week as it tries stretching a finite supply of vaccine to eligible residents.
Clinics planned at Stanislaus State University in Turlock on Wednesday and March 6 will both administer first doses from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other clinics include:
— Modesto Centre Plaza, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, first dose only.
— The Gladys Lemmons Senior Center in Oakdale, Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., second dose Moderna; and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., first dose only.
— Hammon Senior Center in Patterson, Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., first and second doses.
The county vaccine clinics expanded eligibility early this week to people age 50 and older who work in the education, childcare, emergency services, food and agriculture sectors. County residents 65 and older and healthcare workers in Phase 1A remain eligible.
The county also plans two clinics for eligible school employees next week that are not open to the public. School districts provide clinic information to employees.
The public vaccine clinics operating on a first-come, first-served basis were notorious for long lines and wait times when they began in January. But that was not necessarily the norm this past week. The county’s Stanemergency.com Facebook page reported no wait times Thursday at Modesto Centre Plaza and no waiting Friday afternoon in Oakdale.
A few residents have told The Modesto Bee about trouble getting their second dose of vaccine at the Stanislaus State clinic.
Veaoulat Vetkalia of Turlock said her vaccination card scheduled her for a second dose of Pfizer at Stanislaus State on Thursday. No clinic was scheduled for that day, and next week’s clinics in Turlock are first dose only. Vetkalia said she didn’t receive a message from the county about her second dose. A county spokesperson could not be reached Friday evening.
State increases the county’s allocation
Stanislaus County received a larger allocation (9,000 doses) from the state this week after Gov. Gavin Newsom promised a 58 percent increase for counties in the Central Valley.
Newsom shared more details Friday on the larger distribution. During a visit to Fresno, the governor said a 58 percent increase was the average and the amounts differed by county. Local health agencies in the Valley region received a total of 69,000 doses, up from 44,000, with Kern County getting close to a 70 percent hike, Newsom said.
The state also worked with OptumServe to convert a coronavirus test site in west Modesto to a vaccination clinic serving residents by appointment. And it reallocated a one-time 34,000 vaccine doses to farmworkers in the Central Valley. The doses were taken from a provider that was not using them quickly enough, Newsom said.
Newsom said California expects to receive shipment of 380,300 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, after a Food and Drug Administration panel recommended emergency approval of the new single-dose vaccine. Additional shipments of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine will give the state 1.1 million doses over a three-week period.
Blue Shield will watch over vaccine use
State officials said a third-party arrangement with Blue Shield of California will go into effect Monday for management of a state vaccine network.
Next month will mark a shift in California’s vaccine program as providers that distribute or administer vaccine are expected to migrate over to the online My Turn system. State residents can already register on My Turn and be notified when they are eligible for vaccination against COVID-19.
As large healthcare providers like Kaiser Permanente and other health systems are placed on the My Turn system, it will serve as a general portal for patients seeking vaccinations, state officials said in a briefing Friday.
Paul Markovich, chief executive officer of Blue Shield, said county health agencies will continue to deliver vaccinations to those needing it the most. He advised people to keep using current methods of signing up for vaccinations. “Don’t make any change on Monday,” he said. “The transitions are going to happen over time.”
State officials say the third-party agreement is needed for data analytics and tracking where vaccine is allocated, who is receiving it and whether it is reaching high-risk populations.
The state needs to show maximum use of vaccine to the federal government and that equity goals are met. Among other things, Blue Shield is in charge of tracking orders, shipments and lot numbers to see if the vaccine has been administered.
If the federal government believes California has a couple million doses that are not administered, that can affect how much the state gets from additional allocations, Markovich explained.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 5:39 AM.
