Storms delay Central Coast COVID vaccine shipments. What does that mean for appointments?
Severe weather conditions across the United States caused a delay in COVID-19 vaccine shipments that may affect Central Coast clinics next week, according to the county Public Health Department and Noozhawk.
San Luis Obispo County Public Health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said Wednesday that some second-dose appointments are reliant on a shipment of coronavirus vaccines that has yet to arrive due to storms in parts of the country.
“Some of our appointments, particularly our second-dose appointments next week, are dependent on us getting a shipment that was supposed to come yesterday,” Bornstein said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, that shipment had not been sent out by the distributor, according to Borenstein.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department on Tuesday evening announced that it was notified by the California Department of Public Health that its allotment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine would not arrive in time for appointments scheduled for Wednesday, Noozhawk reported.
While the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department had to reschedule about 800 appointments due to the delayed vaccines, San Luis Obispo County’s appointments this week were not affected.
Borenstein said there is a chance that some appointments will be rescheduled late next week if the shipment does not arrive in time. However, as of Wednesday, no schedule reconfigurations were necessary.
“We are hopeful that we will still see those doses in time,” Borenstein said. “But it is possible that some of our appointments later in the week next week, if we do not get that additional shipment, may have to be postponed.”
County officials did not state when they now expect the coronavirus vaccine shipment to arrive or how many appointments my be affected.
As of Feb. 12, the county’s most recent data, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department had administered first-dose vaccines to 22,742 local residents. More than 5,600 of those people have also received second doses.
According to state data Feb. 17, a total of 44,534 people — about 16% of the county’s population — have received at least their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine from the county Public Health Department, chain pharmacies and local hospitals.
Where to get a COVID-19 test and schedule a vaccine appointment
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department is urging anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, or those who have come into contact with someone with the virus, to get tested.
Free coronavirus testing is available at clinics throughout San Luis Obispo County. To make an appointment, visit emergencySLO.org/testing; you can register by phone at 888-634-1123.
As of Tuesday, the county Public Health Department is administering coronavirus vaccines to health care workers, skilled nursing residents and employees and people age 65 and older by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment visit RecoverSLO.org or call 805-543-2444.
Appointment schedules will be announced on weekdays around 9 a.m. as appointments become available on RecoverSLO.org and via county email alerts.
To sign up for email alerts visit EmergencySLO.org/en/newsletter.aspx.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 5:19 PM.
