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Thousands of vaccine appointments went vacant last week, leading local health officials to urge open COVID-19 vaccinations to people aged 55 and over.
Clark County’s two mass vaccination sites, along with the smaller ones, are operating well below capacity, Dr Fermin Leguen, director of health for the Southern Nevada Health District, said on Monday.
“We are really struggling right now to fill our vaccination sites,” said Leguen.
The two mass vaccination sites are capable of delivering approximately 4000 doses per day. However, Leguen recently said that the Cashman Center administers less than 2,500 a day, and the Las Vegas Convention Center rarely breaks 3,000.
The problem arises less than a month after vaccine eligibility begins for residents in the 65 to 69 age group. Another group of frontline workers became eligible on March 2.
The drop in nominations has not led to an increase in wasted doses, Leguen said. However, there are hundreds of Nevada National Guard volunteers, staff, and members working at vaccination sites that are not being used to their full potential.
Leguen said more people aged 65 to 69 were still working, compared to older residents, making it more difficult to schedule an appointment during the day. The health district plans to expand public awareness and keep mass vaccination sites open later in an effort to attract more patients, he said.
But the most effective solution to immediately increasing nominations would be to allow access to a larger group of audiences.
The health district has called for state officials to lower the minimum age for vaccine eligibility for the general public from 65 to 55, Leguen said. About 270,000 people aged 55 to 64 live in Clark County, according to 2019 Census Bureau estimates.
The Nevada Immunization Manual does not have a predefined eligibility group for people aged 55 to 64. Instead, the next group would be Nevadans between the ages of 16 and 64 with underlying conditions, disabilities, or who are homeless.
Nevada Department of Health and Human Services officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
At the start of Nevada’s vaccination campaign, appointments were extremely difficult to find and often booked within minutes or hours of being available.
This has changed as the state’s weekly vaccine allowance has increased rapidly.
In January, the average weekly allowance was around 36,000 doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In February, it rose to around 48,000 people. So far in March, after the release of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it was closer to 76,000.
Other large-scale vaccination sites have reported poor participation rates in recent times.
The UNLV clinic, which can deliver 2,000 doses per day, has been operating at half capacity over the past few working days, said Dr Michael Gardner, president and CEO of UNLV Medicine, the medical office of the medical school of the university.
In addition to promoting vaccinations through websites and social media, Gardner has personally called area grocery stores to encourage managers to let employees know they became eligible for the vaccination last week.
Until more groups become eligible, “we’re concerned that this is an ongoing problem,” Gardner said.
Speaking as a doctor and not as a representative of the UNLV, he said he hopes eligibility will soon be extended to more professions, more age groups and people with disabilities. underlying health issues.
“I hope we can move forward in these directions in the relatively near future, as it will help a lot of people,” he said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Where to get vaccinated
Same-day first dose appointments and second dose appointments for people who have been vaccinated at a health district or partner clinic are available at the Cashman Center and Las Vegas Convention Center sites.
The Cashman Clinic is located in Exhibit Hall B, 850 N. Las Vegas Blvd. The convention center clinic is located in zone C-1 of the hotel’s central hall. Both sites are open Tuesday through Saturday.
Questions? Call 1-800-401-0946 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Contact Michael Scott Davidson at [email protected] or 702-477-3861. To follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.
Contact Mary Hynes at [email protected] or 702-383-0336. To follow @ MaryHynes1 on Twitter.
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