Despite state guidance, SLO County won’t yet open COVID vaccines to all people over 65
California officials announced Wednesday that everyone over the age of 65 should be next in line to get a coronavirus vaccine right after healthcare workers and skilled nursing home residents.
But, San Luis Obispo County officials say that’s not realistic. The county is still working its way through Phase 1A of vaccine distribution, according to county Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein.
“Our supply, unfortunately, this week and next week has not put us in a position to advance tremendously,” Borenstein said at a news briefing Wednesday.
How many vaccines have been administered in San Luis Obispo County?
To date, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department has received 17,600 doses of coronavirus vaccine, up from a total of 12,225 doses as of Jan. 8.
Of those 17,000-plus vaccines, 10,275 doses are considered to be the first dose in the two-part vaccination. The additional 7,325 doses must be allocated as the second dose, according to Borenstein, though both doses are the same, she said.
“The doses are identical. The process is identical, but we have to account for them as first doses versus second doses,” Borenstein said.
Borenstein said that, as of Wednesday, about 57% of the county Public Health Department’s first vaccines have been administered.
About 1,200 of the county’s vaccines were given to hospitals and other partners to distribute to their employees, according to Borenstein.
Additionally, the county estimates more than 5,000 vaccines, which were given directly from the state to facilities and through pharmacy chain partners, have been administered to hospital employees, long-term care residents and people at California Men’s Colony state prison in San Luis Obispo and Atascadero State Hospital.
Borenstein said that the county Public Health Department expects to only have 4,000 first-dose vaccines on hand by Monday.
“We have no eyes on when our next allocation of first doses are expected to come,” she said.
The county learned late Tuesday that it will receive more second-dose vaccines next week, but not more first-dose vaccines.
The county began administering second-dose vaccines to people this week and will continue to do so next week.
Who is next in line for COVID-19 vaccination?
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that anyone over the age of 65 should be included in Phase 1B of the coronavirus vaccination rollout. The state Department of Health and Human Services also recommended this at the federal level, Borenstein said.
However, within the county, Phase 1B will only include those age 75 and older due to limited supply, the local coronavirus task force decided.
According to Borenstein, in San Luis Obispo County there are more than 26,000 residents over the age of 75. There are an additional 36,000 or so people in the county between ages 65 to 74.
Yet the county will only likely have roughly 4,000 vaccines left to give on Monday, Borenstein said. And there is no confirmed date for when the next set of first dose vaccines will arrive.
“We made a decision as the local task force that our next opening for vaccination will be age 75-plus,” Borenstein said.
“If you look at the mortality rates, if you go up from 65 to 75 to 85, it gets considerably worse,” she added.
Borenstein said that the county will only provide vaccinations to those who meet the criteria of whichever vaccination phase the county is in.
For instance, once vaccines are open to those age 75 years and up, San Luis Obispo County may check for identification to confirm their age. This process will be to ensure that the most vulnerable are receiving vaccination first.
When will SLO County move to next phase?
According to Borenstein, the current system only gives counties a five- to six-day notice about their next allocation of vaccines. So it has been hard for San Luis Obispo County to predict when it can move forward.
Borenstein said the county hopes to know more soon about when it will receive more first dose vaccines. Once that information is available, the county will have a better picture of how soon it can progress to Phase 1B.
According to the county’s website, Phase 1B may start in February or sooner.
“We are ready to administer 3,000 doses a day starting on Monday, but obviously if we only have 4,000 doses, that’s not going to take us very far,” Borenstein said.
How will community members know when they can be vaccinated?
San Luis Obispo County rolled out a new website Tuesday to give the community updates on vaccinations and how soon they will be available to different community sectors.
Borenstein said the website will be updated in the days and weeks to come with information about where, when and how people can get a coronavirus vaccine.
The website will also soon be updated with data on who has received a vaccine, according to Borenstein.
For more information on the vaccine, visit recoverslo.org/en/covid-19-vaccines-in-slo-county.aspx.
Correction: This story has been updated to remove a sentence regarding coronavirus vaccine scheduling. San Luis Obispo County’s supply of vaccines is limited. However, vaccines have not been held back and appointments are occurring this week.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 6:32 PM.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to remove a statement regarding why the vaccination roll out has been slowed. The county has limited vaccine, however they are not holding back any vaccine from appointments available this week.
