Update: SLO County boosts number of vaccines by releasing hold on Moderna doses
Update, 1:30 p.m.:
The county was able to increase the number of first-dose coronavirus vaccine appointments available next week from 4,000 to 5,100 because the Public Health Department was permitted to begin using the batch of Moderna vaccine that was previously under investigation, according to Public Health public information officer Michelle Shoresman.
San Luis Obispo County had received more than 4,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine that were a part of a batch under investigation. The state Department of Public Health recommended local vaccine distributors pause in using the vaccination after fewer than 10 people received shots in San Diego and needed medical care, the Sacramento Bee reported.
After an investigation, the Department of Public Health “found no scientific basis to continue the pause.”
None of the Moderna doses that had been paused have yet been administered by the local Public Health Department. They were a part of vaccines allocated as second doses.
The county announced Wednesday that it converted half of its second-dose allocations to first doses, yet it was anticipating a delay due to the more than 4,000 vaccines being paused.
Now that the batch of Moderna vaccines has been cleared, more vaccination appointments were made available.
Second-dose coronavirus vaccine appointments will take place next week in addition to the 5,100 first-dose appointments that were released Thursday, according to Shoresman.
The county said it will notify residents when it is ready to administer their second dose of the vaccine, either Pfizer or Moderna.
Due to limited supply, second-dose appointments may not be available on the exact day a person is eligible.
The county said that while a second dose is required for maximum protections, a delay isn’t detrimental.
Update, 12 p.m.:
As of noon Thursday, all 5,100 coronavirus vaccine appointment slots were filled for the upcoming week.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department announced at 9 a.m. Thursday that it would be administering 4,000 COVID-19 vaccines the following week.
The number of vaccination appointments available next week was increased to more than 5,100, according to the county.
Yet even with the increased number of appointments, the slots filled in less than three hours.
According to the county, there were approximately 36 appointments booked per minute.
The county did not immediately respond to questions about the increase in appointments.
Original story:
San Luis Obispo County announced Thursday morning that 4,000 appointments for coronavirus vaccinations were available next week for health care workers and people age 75 and over.
By 10:20 a.m., the county had booked 2,500 of those appointments, according to county public information officer Michelle Shoresman.
The county experienced a brief outage of their online reservation system at around 9:40 a.m.
“Well this is embarrassing. We are having technical difficulties this morning with our COVID-19 vaccine sign up form and are working behind the scenes on a solution,” the county tweeted.
The issue was resolved by 10:30 a.m., according to Shoresman.
The new appointments come after the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department announced that a third distribution site is opening in Arroyo Grande.
“We plan to vaccinate over 4,000 people this week, and about just as many next week,” county Public Health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in a news release.
As of Jan. 15, the county has administered first doses of the vaccine to more than 6,200 residents. Of those, 1,060 have also now received second doses.
Additional health care workers have been vaccinated through Dignity Health and Tenet Health Central Coast, who receive vaccine doses directly from the state.
Chain pharmacies including CVS have received and administered doses to skilled nursing facility residents and employees. Vaccines at chain pharmacies are only available to people living and working at skilled nursing facilities at this time.
SLO County residents frustrated about COVID-19 vaccine availability
Multiple San Luis Obispo County residents called The Tribune early Thursday morning expressing their frustration and confusion with the appointment scheduling process, which was made even more challenging by the blip in the system Thursday morning.
One caller suggested the county create a waitlist so that people seeking COVID-19 vaccinations don’t have to call each week. Another said they had tried several times to get through the phone line to no avail.
Arroyo Grande resident Lester Goldfisher, 84, said he has been trying to sign up for a vaccine appointment for weeks and was told to try again Thursday morning when the new appointments were announced.
“These matters are life and death,” Goldfisher said.
Goldfisher said he has continually received a message saying there are no available appointments, noting that the phone line was busy Thursday morning.
“We get the same old message ... I’ve been camping out on my computer for three weeks now,” Goldfisher said.
According to the county, more appointments will be made available as vaccine supply increases.
How to register for a coronavirus vaccination appointment
The county Public Health Department is only administering vaccines to people in Phase 1A and Phase 1B — health care workers, skilled nursing facility employees and people age 75 and older.
Appointments can be made online at RecoverSLO.org/VaccineRegistration.
They can also be made via phone at 805-543-2444. The county’s Phone Assistance Center is now available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Residents can also receive email alerts about vaccinations by signing up at EmergencySLO.org/en/newsletter.
If you are needing transportation to your vaccination appointment, call RTA Runabout at 805-541–2544 or call Ride-On at 805-541-8747 to schedule a no-cost roundtrip ride.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 10:43 AM.
