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UC San Diego Health’s medical system is the first in the county to deliver vaccines to the enlarged pool, officials said on Friday.
So far, San Diego facilities – many of which said earlier this week they would follow state and CDC guidelines and start giving injections to residents 65 and older – have had limited doses. to give to Level 1A members, who are primarily health care workers and assisted living residents.
In fact, the county issued a statement earlier the same day regarding the progress of some hospitals: “San Diegans aged 65 and over are the next priority group for COVID-19 vaccination. However, due to the limited supply of doses in the region, only a few healthcare professionals have a vaccine available for their patients in this group. “
UC San Diego Health began vaccinating patients on Thursday.
“[The] The goal is to vaccinate approximately 500 patients per day at healthcare facilities in UC San Diego, “UC San Diego Health said in a press release on Friday afternoon.” This is in addition to the nearly 10 000 UC San Diego Health employees who have already received their first dose in Phase 1A. “
Thousands of assisted living residents are waiting to receive their COVID-19 vaccines. Alexis Rivas of NBC 7 spoke about the process to a recently vaccinated senior.
Dalia Talamantez was one of the first in the 65+ group of level 1B patients to be vaccinated.
“I get the vaccine because I want to be protected from the virus,” Talamantez said in the press release sent by UCSD Health. “I was inspired to get this vaccine because I have seen so many relatives and friends affected by this virus. So for me it is absolutely wonderful and delightful that I was able to get it so quickly.
The rollout of the US vaccine is progressing more slowly than expected and worries those at higher risk of catching COVID-19, reports Melissa Adan of NBC 7.
Patients at severe risk of COVID-19 infection and with co-morbidities are prioritized by UCSD, officials said. Those who are eligible “will receive a direct invitation to be vaccinated via their electronic medical record or a direct call from their health care provider.”
UCSD health officials, concerned about overflowing phone lines, are urging patients not to call healthcare providers directly and instead ask them to wait to be contacted.
The county also said on Friday that when it is ready to start vaccinating the 65 and over pool, it will make various efforts to contact those who are eligible, including posting information to coronavirus-sd.com/vaccine.
One of the reasons the patient pool over 65 has been prioritized is that its limbs are more likely to die from the disease. Another is general frustration over the slow rollout of the vaccine, which has prompted many states to open up eligibility to the country’s 54 million older people.
State public health officials on Wednesday followed federal guidelines by announcing that people 65 and older could now be vaccinated, joining the next already eligible level of emergency workers, teachers, childcare providers and food and agriculture workers grouped together at level 1B. The decision puzzled some officials, who said they didn’t even have enough doses to vaccinate those in Level 1A.
San Diego County, home to 3.3 million people, has received more than 241,000 doses and administered more than 92,000 – although the overall number is likely higher, as vaccines are also provided by the departments of the defense and veterans to the region’s significant military presence. .
San Diego has approximately 620,000 healthcare workers and residents of Level 1A long-term care facilities. Making people 65 and over eligible for the vaccine adds another 500,000 people to the mix.
“It’s great that the state is saying, ‘Hey, people 65 and over are eligible to get the shot,’ but it requires counties to actually have the shots,” County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said. .
California received more than 2.4 million doses of the vaccine on Monday, but only a third of them have been used. Local governments, meanwhile, are moving quickly to set up massive vaccine distribution sites in hopes of convincing state and federal authorities to send them more doses. San Diego opened a so-called super center this week in the Tailgate Park parking lot outside Petco Park, where thousands of people have been photographed.
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