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Kaiser Permanente officials on Friday apologized to their members for the long wait times at call centers in recent days since eligibility for the state’s coronavirus vaccine was extended to people from 65 years and over.
Limited vaccine supplies have challenged health care providers across the state. Sutter Health’s website crashed for a while and other vendors added automated messages to explain the process in response to the huge interest.
Kaiser’s call centers have been overcrowded with members wanting to schedule vaccination appointments. Kaiser officials told The Chronicle they “don’t have enough vaccines to meet even a fraction of this demand.”
A single Kaiser call center on Thursday received “four times the normal call volume,” said Carrie Owen Plietz, president of the Northern California region of Kaiser Permanente. Kaiser’s vaccine hotline received more than 90,000 calls Thursday, up from 38,000 calls Tuesday, Kaiser officials told The Chronicle in a statement Friday.
Members of Kaiser complained on social media that they were put on hold for hours, sometimes without being scheduled for a vaccination appointment.
In the days following the expansion of state officials’ eligibility to residents 65 and over – which represents 1.4 million Kaiser members in California – Kaiser officials have been outspoken with their members on Twitter Friday.
‘COVID-19 vaccine supply limited and unpredictable,’ Kaiser officials say said on twitter. “The recent expansion of eligibility by the state to include people over 65 has yet to provide an additional offer.”
https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https://twitter.com/aboutKP/status/1350295724957851648&widget=Tweet
Kaiser officials said they have been receiving a weekly average of around 20,000 first and second doses since early December, but until vaccine supply increases, it will take “several months” to vaccinate all members. of Kaisers aged 65 and over in California both doses.
Speaking from a South Bay Kaiser facility at a press conference with San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Friday, Owen Plietz thanked Kaiser members for their patience – joking that she is trying to rally some of his own – and said those responsible are facing an “unprecedented situation.” challenge ”of the ever-changing situation during the pandemic, associated with limited vaccine stocks.
“A vaccination effort of this magnitude is new to all of us. We also want to recognize the frustration many of you feel when trying to get the vaccine or to understand when you can and when you should get the vaccine, ”said Owen Plietz. “New information often emerges within hours, days, and we are moving quickly to get everyone immunized during this extraordinary and confusing time.”
Owen Plietz said Kaiser vaccinated healthcare workers, in line with California’s phased approach, and that on Friday Kaiser administered first-dose vaccines to more than 90,000 healthcare workers. This number “is increasing every day and hour,” she said.
Kaiser said he administered 120,000 shots in total in California on Friday. Owen Plietz said that Kaiser has vaccinated over 9,000 health workers who are not Kaiser Permanente staff, and over 1,600 people who are also not Kaiser Permanente “because our role is to work. within the community to ensure that everyone is immunized. “
“We are committed to making sure that we act as quickly as possible to get the vaccine to those who are eligible and soon to all who want to receive it,” said Owen Plietz.
Kaiser officials said they expected “significant shipments in the coming weeks” as “manufacturers’ production ramps.”
Kaiser officials said they have taken steps to “alleviate the situation as we work on more ways to increase access to vaccines as supply permits”, such as: increasing staff in a 24-hour call center; inform members who call the line that there are no appointments for vaccines available; planning to add an option next week to allow eligible members to schedule an immunization appointment on their own “based on vaccine supplies”; contact eligible members with immunization information; and officials coordinate with local and state agencies to create mass vaccination sites and “reach out to the most vulnerable in our communities.”
“But we need more vaccines before these can open,” Kaiser officials said in a statement to The Chronicle.
Lauren Hernández is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ByLHernandez
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