Mobile clinics rolled out in Stanislaus to raise COVID vaccination rates, prevent surge
The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency next week will take coronavirus vaccine out to communities that have lower vaccination rates or less access to the shots.
A clinic Thursday at the Airport Neighborhood Community Center, 805 Empire Ave., will offer first doses of Pfizer vaccine from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The airport neighborhood in southeast Modesto is in a zip code where 28 percent of residents were partially vaccinated against COVID-19 and 16 percent were fully inoculated, the third lowest rate in the county, according to data reported to county supervisors April 20.
The county agency will hold a mobile clinic Monday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the outlying community of Grayson. The clinic at the Grayson United Community Center, 8900 Laird St., will administer first doses of Pfizer vaccine.
With fewer people using the county’s stationary vaccine clinics in Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale and Patterson, county health officials are setting up more mobile clinics in areas where people have less access to transportation or vaccination rates are lower due to language and cultural barriers.
The county plans to phase out its mass vaccination clinics starting in mid-May, replacing them with mobile clinics, closed dispensing pods and targeted events.
Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, county public health officer, said at a briefing Thursday the mass clinics originally served people in high-risk groups, such as health care workers and educators or adults with chronic medical conditions, but there is less urgency to get vaccinated in the remaining population of healthy people and younger adults.
The county will also try to overcome hesitancy among residents by holding clinics in coordination with trusted groups such as unions, community-based organizations and churches, the health officer said.
Vaishampayan said the county’s highest rate of coronavirus cases is in the 18 to 29 age group. Younger adults can easily spread the virus to older family members and co-workers and could be drivers of the next COVID-19 surge, she said.
Adults in the 18 to 49 age group had the lowest vaccination rate in the county data released in April, with 31 percent partially vaccinated and 12 percent fully vaccinated. The county has said that about half of eligible residents (age 16 and older) have received at least one shot of coronavirus vaccine, giving them some immunity, and about 30 percent are fully vaccinated.
A plan for using Johnson & Johnson vaccine
The county is working out a plan for resuming the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and the FDA determined the J&J vaccine is safe after investigating 15 cases of very rare blood clots that mostly affected women younger than 50 years old.
The rate of blood clots in combination with low blood platelets was 7 cases per million in women age 18 to 49. The FDA and CDC lifted the recommended pause April 23, saying the benefits of the J&J vaccine outweigh the potential risks.
Kamlesh Kaur, a county spokesperson, said vaccination events using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shots will give residents, especially women younger than 50 years old, the choice of another vaccine in case they don’t want the J&J.
The county will release details next week of any clinics offering the single-dose vaccine.
Here are the dates and times next week for mass vaccination clinics offering Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to Stanislaus County residents:
— Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Stanislaus State University, 1 University Circle, Turlock. Second doses of Pfizer.
— Tuesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St. First and second doses Pfizer.
— Tuesday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m, Gladys Lemmons Senior Center, 450 East A St., Oakdale. Second doses Moderna.
— Wednesday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Stanislaus State University, 1 University Circle, Turlock. First and second doses Pfizer.
— Wednesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Hammon Senior Center, 1033 W. Las Palmas Ave., Patterson. Second doses Moderna.
— Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St. First and second doses Pfizer.
— Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Gladys Lemmons Senior Center, 450 East A St., Oakdale. Second doses Moderna.
— Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Stanislaus State University, 1 University Circle, Turlock. First doses Moderna.
— Saturday (May 8), 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Stanislaus State University, 1 University Circle, Turlock. First and second doses Pfizer.
The vaccine clinics are for people who live or work in Stanislaus County. Teens 16 or 17 years old are only approved for Pfizer vaccine and need a parent or guardian present.
Information on coronavirus vaccines and other options for getting the shots is available at www.schsa.org.
