Meet at the Palm Springs Convention Center reserved

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Maria sestito
,
Vickie Connor

| Palm Springs Desert Sun

Supervisors in Riverside County were surprised this week to learn that California had allocated COVID-19 vaccine doses to counties based on their number of eligible residents – not the total population.

The news came as the county continues to try to ramp up vaccination efforts in the face of limited supply. Approximately 350 appointment slots are booked Thursday morning for a new vaccination site at the Palm Springs Convention Center which will open with limited appointments on Friday.

The Palm Springs site plans to vaccinate 500 people per day, from Monday.

A few people, including Mike Thompson, a Palm Springs resident, came to the convention center hoping to get their shots on Thursday. Healing worker Jovann Castellón helped Thompson, 73, make an appointment using his smartphone. He got one for Friday at 3 p.m.

“I was about to drive to Beaumont,” Thompson said after taking about 15 minutes to register on the Curative website. “It’s worth it to me.”

Riverside County is among many counties struggling with vaccine shortages that are crippling the inoculation efforts of a substantial number in the state of nearly 40 million residents, which has surpassed New York in the grim statistic of number of deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data was released Thursday.

The death toll in California has reached 45,496, exceeding New York’s death toll of 45,312.

In the first four to six weeks of the vaccine rollout, vaccine allocations were based on the population of health workers in each county, said Darrel Ng, senior communications advisor for the COVID-Vaccine Working Group, on Tuesday. 19 state.

Residents living in long-term care facilities were also included, according to Riverside County spokesperson Brooke Federico.

Three weeks ago, residents 65 and over became an additional factor.

“California allocates funds based on the eligible population,” Ng said this week.

Allocations align with eligible priority groups in the state: healthcare workers and long-term residents had access to vaccines first, followed by people aged 65 and over.

Riverside County Fifth District Supervisor and Vice President Jeff Hewitt said he was “absolutely stunned” and “appalled” by the state’s allocation methodology.

“On a per capita basis, we thought these were fair amounts for our different counties,” Hewitt said.

“I would love to see their data which shows that any healthcare worker is almost in danger compared to someone who is (a) senior,” Hewitt added. “I would love to see their justification for doing this.”

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Le ministère de la Santé de Californie n’inclut pas les travailleurs essentiels éligibles dans ses estimations d’allocation, a déclaré le directeur de la santé publique du comté de Riverside, Kim Saruwatari, car tous les comtés n’inoculent pas actuellement ces populations.

Le comté de Riverside a ouvert l’accès aux vaccins aux enseignants, aux travailleurs agricoles, aux forces de l’ordre et à d’autres membres de ce groupe prioritaire le mois dernier.

Cela signifie que, la semaine dernière, seulement environ 60% des 800 000 résidents éligibles pour un tir étaient comptés dans les allocations du comté, selon le porte-parole Brooke Federico.

“C’est un processus très fluide”, a déclaré Saruwatari. “La question de savoir si la méthodologie est la meilleure ou non est toujours en discussion et nous continuons à avoir ces discussions avec le CDPH et nos partenaires.”

Cependant, les responsables du comté voisin de San Bernardino savaient déjà que les allocations étaient basées sur la population éligible, a déclaré jeudi le porte-parole David Wert.

“The county does not believe that the transition of healthcare workers to age 65 and over will significantly alter benefits in San Bernardino County,” Wert said.

Does Riverside County have the small end of the stick?

The state’s methodology was brought up at a Supervisory Board meeting on Tuesday when Saruwatari pointed out that some counties were receiving more doses of COVID-19 vaccine per capita than Riverside County.

Saruwatari said the counties of San Diego and Santa Clara stood out because each “received quite a large number of vaccines per capita compared to us.”

The counties of San Diego and Santa Clara have received about 180 vaccines per 1,000 residents, according to Saruwatari. Riverside County has received about 100 shots per 1,000 people, she said.

San Diego County has about 2.5 times more healthcare workers than Riverside County, Saruwatari said. So, San Diego County’s vaccine allocation was 13.3% of the state’s total doses – Riverside County’s was about 4.3%, Federico said.

Ng did not immediately provide updated information on the total dose allocation for each county.

The state said it delivered more than 7.6 million doses on Wednesday. According to data available in counties on the same day, Riverside County – home to 6.3% of California’s population – received about 3.5% of that total, while San Diego County, home to 8, 4% of the population received about 9.2%.

Santa Clara County, which accounts for about 4.9% of the state’s population, had received 4.9% of those doses. Los Angeles County, home to about a quarter of the state’s population, received 16.9%.

Health workers gradually withdrawn from the allowance

Since the state includes people aged 65 and over in its estimates going forward, Riverside County will begin to see a slight increase in allowances and San Diego County will see a decrease, Saruwatari said.

Beginning with this week’s first dose allocations, Federico said, the state is reducing the number of Phase 1A healthcare workers in its estimates.

“Because the entities have so far received enough vaccine to cover their Phase 1A populations, these estimates will be phased out of the denominator,” said Federico.

Half of those counted in the Phase 1A estimates were cut for allocations last Tuesday and the remaining half will be cut for allocations set for next week, she said.

This means that starting next week, California counties vaccine allocations will only be based on the number of residents over 65 in their population.

“Currently, the allowance takes into account the over 65 population,” Ng said Thursday. “In the coming weeks, the essential worker population will also be included.”

Riverside County will receive 6.19% of the state’s total vaccine allocation, Federico said. The county is home to more than 365,000 residents over the age of 65, according to census data. Conversely, San Diego County – home to more than 484,000 seniors – will receive 7.94% of the state’s vaccines, she said.

First District Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said he was “a little skeptical” about the state’s explanation for more doses going to wealthier counties like San Diego and Santa Clara.

“It just smacks of typical California bureaucrats favoring some counties over others, but I can’t prove it,” Jeffries said.

Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez also expressed concern about the fairness of the state’s decision, citing a state decision in the early 1990s to transfer control of some health programs. to county control.

“The Inland Empire, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County have unfortunately not always received their fair share since the realignment in 1991. We still continue these struggles today,” Perez said.

He also said he wished this conversation had taken place sooner because supervisors felt the allocation was based on population.

California has about 6.5 million people aged 65 and over and about 2 million healthcare workers, Ng said.

“We will need 17 million doses of vaccine to complete these groups,” Ng said.

California had administered more than 5 million doses of the vaccine as of Wednesday and is currently receiving about 1 million doses per week.

Maria Sestito covers the aging and senior population of the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun. She is also a member of the Report for America Corps and new to the desert. Please say “hello” via [email protected] or @RiaSestito.

Vaccination appointment at the Palm Springs Convention Center: know before you go

Although it is listed as a “walk-in” site, appointments are required.
Appointments are available on the Curative website at curative.com. There is also a button on the Riverside County website at rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine.
The site will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, including the president’s holiday next week, according to city officials.
Those who receive their first doses on the site will also be able to register for the second doses during their stay.
While those in attendance Thursday were asked to upload images of their health insurance cards, health insurance is not a requirement to receive a vaccine, according to the state. Vaccinations against COVID-19 are administered free of charge to residents.
Nominations are open to eligible residents, which includes healthcare workers and those over the age of 65, as well as essential agriculture, education, and law enforcement workers.

Coachella Valley: Case So Far

Health officials on Thursday reported 116 new cases, one additional virus-related death and 258 new healing cases in Coachella Valley. Here are the city and community breakdowns, with the numbers in parentheses indicating increases since Wednesday:

Cathedral city: 6784 cases (+19), 93 deaths and 5883 healings
Coachella: 7,712 cases (+24), 75 deaths (+1) and 6,824 recoveries
Desert hot springs: 3,975 cases (+14), 58 deaths and 3,413 recoveries
Indian goods: 185 cases (+1), 6 deaths and 157 recoveries
Indio: 11,859 cases (+27), 179 deaths and 10,270 recoveries
The fifth: 3231 cases (+7), 52 deaths and 2767 recoveries
Palm Desert: 3,746 cases, 96 deaths and 3,172 recoveries
Palm Springs: 3531 cases (+7), 101 deaths and 3003 recoveries
Rancho Mirage: 1,043 cases, 35 deaths and 822 recoveries
Unincorporated communities: Bermuda Dunes: 611 cases, 7 deaths and 525 recoveries; Desert Edge: 337 cases, 12 deaths and 266 recoveries; Desert Palms: 242 cases (+1), 19 deaths and 195 recoveries; Garnet: 860 cases (+1), 18 deaths and 742 healings; Mecca: 1,112 cases (+2), 17 deaths and 979 healings; Côte-Nord: 342 cases, 2 deaths and 303 recoveries; Oasis: 855 cases (+4), 6 deaths and 766 healings; Sky Valley: 212 cases (+1), 4 deaths and 173 recoveries; Thermal: 459 cases (+1), 5 deaths and 408 recoveries; Thousand Palms: 998 cases (+5), 6 deaths and 845 recoveries; Vista Santa Rosa: 294 cases, 2 deaths and 258 recoveries
Vaccines: Riverside County administered 281,099 of the 296,875 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine it received as of Wednesday. The county in turn allocated 158,150 doses to community providers and 13,975 doses to its own public health clinics.
California: 3,371,556 cases (+8,575) and 45,456 deaths (+461)

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