‘We’re saving lives.’ Central Coast congressman visits SLO County vaccine clinic
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal visited a San Luis Obispo County coronavirus vaccine clinic on Thursday as the county Public Health Department vaccinated its greatest number of people at one site in a single day.
Around 900 people were scheduled to be vaccinated for coronavirus at Cuesta College’s Cultural and Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo, according to county Public Health Department spokesperson Michelle Shoresman.
The San Luis Obispo site is one of three vaccine clinics operated by the county, but it’s the only one in operation this week due to limited vaccine supply.
Shoresman said each site has the capacity to vaccinate up to 1,000 people a day and the county hopes to vaccinate 15,000 people per week in the future.
As of Feb. 5, 21,233 people have been vaccinated for COVID-19 through the county Public Health Department. Around 21% of those people have also received second doses.
Coronavirus vaccines opened to county residents ages 65 to 74 on Thursday, a group that constitutes about 38,000 people. However, local vaccine supply cannot keep up with demand.
On Thursday, only 1,900 first dose appointments were made available to people for next week.
All appointments were booked within the hour. However, Shoresman advised that people check RecoverSLO.org each day for vaccine appointments made available due to cancellations.
Shoresman said about 10% of booked appointments have gone unaccounted for.
Yet the county has found ways to avoid wasting vaccines — such as having some eligible people, such as teachers who work with students with disabilities, on standby for doses, according to Stan Atchison, task force leader for the Cuesta College vaccination site.
Atchison said there are usually never more than 10 vaccine doses per day that are redistributed to people on standby.
On Thursday, Carbajal asked Shoresman what one of the most challenging aspects of vaccine distribution has been in San Luis Obispo County. She said supply — along with coordination for both vaccines and dispelling disinformation.
“Its obviously great to be able to come out here and be able to see the great public health organization that they have in place,” Carbajal said. “The biggest issue is the amount of vaccine and supply that is not yet available at the rate that it’s needed.”
The Central Coast congressman, who recovered from coronavirus in October 2020, said he had mild symptoms for the most part.
He said he is excited to see COVID-19 vaccinations happening because they can save lives and eventually lead to a reopened economy.
“It’s really great to see that we’re saving lives,” Carbajal said. “What this is about is making sure we are protecting the public health, that we are protecting the most vulnerable.”
According to Carbajal, President Joe Biden’s administration is working to ensure more vaccines are available “as soon as possible” through the Defense Production Act.
Carbajal, a three-term California congressman, won re-election in 2020. The Democrat represents California’s 24th congressional district, which encompasses San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties as well as part of northern Ventura County.
