When Arjun Batra, 74, a South Bay resident, heard in mid-January Gavin Newsom’s announcement in California that individuals 65 and older were eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, he told his health care provider, Kaiser Permanente, called in hopes of making it. a vaccination appointment.
After waiting three hours on guard, Batra said he finally spoke to a Kaiser representative who asked him a ‘standard set of questions’.
“Based on the answers, the next thing was whether there was an appointment available,” he said. “She said there were no appointments available within the time the appointments were made.”
He’s calling next week. Same thing. Three hour wait, same questions, and again no appointments.
“I asked to speak to the supervisor,” Batra said. “I told the Kaiser supervisor, ‘I’m not upset about you. I’m a little frustrated with the system.” If you can try to streamline the system, and if there are no appointments, there should be a faster way to find out that there are no appointments, you should have a system that does not take hours to wait on the phone not. ‘
Based on a tip from a friend, he downloaded the hospital’s app. He examines his primary hospital for an appointment; no luck. After two days, he tried again and opted for another facility further away. “It gave me three appointments,” he said.
Batra secured an appointment for February 4, a day before his 75th birthday, at Kaiser’s Santa Clara plant in Homestead.
Days later, he received an email informing him that the appointment had been canceled, with no information on how to reschedule.
“It was a long email,” he said. ” Due to a vaccine shortage, we’re currently prioritizing a different group of people, health workers, over 75, ” and all that. It gave me no information on how I would get a new appointment. “
Batra understands that the vaccine has a shortage, and he believes that health workers and those older than him should be put first. That said, he feels the system is broken.
“I want them to prioritize health workers,” he said. “I can quarantine. I can do everything from home. But not everyone is as happy and as blessed as I am.”
Batra is not alone: the process of getting the vaccine for thousands of elderly people across the Bay has been hampered by delays, bureaucracy, inconsistency and perhaps the most damning shortage of vaccines.
Several elderly people who spoke to SFGATE encountered numerous obstacles in their efforts to obtain the vaccine. They spent hours manipulating dysfunctional websites and confused customer service representatives – symptoms of a confusing, frustrating implementation.
“This is the system that is not smooth and productive and is wasting a lot of time and causing frustration,” Batra said. “We need to smooth the systems.”
A CVS pharmacist will deliver the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a resident of the Emerald Court senior housing community in Anaheim, California on Friday, January 8, 2021.
MediaNews Group / Orange County Re / MediaNews Group via Getty Images, Media News Group / Getty Images‘Full of dishonesty’
When Newsom announced the shift to age-based priority for the COVID-19 vaccine last month, it should have been a moment of relief for seniors.
Public health officials praised the move and called it the best decision for the benefit of the state’s population, given the limited number of vaccinations available.
Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, the director of the California Department of Public Health, said according to the Sacramento Bee that the move could reduce the number of hospitalizations and benefit California in general.
But the sudden change away from California’s initial deployment turned out to be chaotic for both patients and doctors.
James Moldovan, a 70-year-old San Francisco resident and cancer survivor, said confusion arose following the notice, as some providers offered the vaccine to individuals 65 and older, while others only to 75 and older offered.
Moldova’s health care provider, Sutter Health, is clear that those who are 75 years or older or working in community health care are put first, but he has not yet been able to find an estimated date for when he can be vaccinated. (A hospital representative declined to comment further on SFGATE.)
“I sent my doctor an email and he said you were basically a little bit alone,” said Moldova, who was without a car in his home throughout the pandemic. “That was the message of this thing. And it’s not a happy message that you’re on your own.”
Meanwhile, Moldova has a 72-year-old friend who was vaccinated by his provider and another acquaintance, a donor to a hospital, allegedly received special treatment.
“The deployment is full of dishonesty,” he said. “The city’s place is to start and ensure a good public policy. The city can coordinate with the Kaisers and the Sutters … they are not completely honest with people.” said Moldovans.
“We understand the frustration”
Even for those who are able to get appointments, the process is riddled with hurdles.
In Santa Clara County, nearly 5,000 elderly people – including Batra – scheduled for the COVID-19 vaccine at Kaiser hospitals have had their appointments canceled.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday for the first time that Kaiser had not received the number of vaccines he had previously expected, a number estimated by previous dispatches and government guidance.
“We understand the frustration it causes, and we continue to do everything in our power to increase the supply of vaccines, and work in partnership with state, state and federal governments,” Kaiser said. “They plan to plan every individual 75 years or older, but said younger seniors will have to wait until there is a” significant increase in vaccine supply. “
In northern Sonoma County, another crisis unfolded on the same day. A leaked web link has led to thousands of people between the ages of 65 and 74 enrolling for a vaccine before the age of 75 and older. After it went viral on social media, thousands of appointments were canceled, and the country apologized.
“Mistakes are made, and I would guess there will be more mistakes because we are trying so hard to get them right,” said Chris Coursey of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, via KTVU.
Sonoma County spokesman Matt Brown said the site has since been modified to clearly state that only individuals older than 75 can be vaccinated.
“Solved my problems”
Some hospitals are strategizing to cancel appointments, and UCSF said it has not canceled any yet.
“We are only planning a few days at a time to avoid these kinds of scenarios,” UCSF spokeswoman Elizabeth Fernandez wrote in an email to SFGATE.
According to Fernandez on Sunday, UCSF administered 40,268 vaccinations.
“Our vaccinations went to employees and students at greatest risk for exposure, as well as patients,” Fernandez said. “We also vaccinated non-UCSF health workers in partnership with the city and province of San Francisco.”
And despite a myriad of obstacles, elderly people successfully vaccinate, often by trying several avenues and then suddenly giving up on the one that works.
Jeff Neustadt, a 76-year-old San Franciscan, is on Medicare with a supplement and could not find any information on how to access the vaccine.
After having spent at least ten hours talking and checking websites, he reported to Sutter and got an appointment in San Mateo – after hearing a tip that they were distributing vaccinations to non-members.
“I was between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “It took many hours, many calls.”
That said, Neustadt later admitted he was happy.
“It would be difficult for someone who was not mobile because my appointment was in San Mateo.”
And in Sonoma County, where the scheduling site fiasco took place, 82-year-old Richard Hirsch successfully navigated everything. “I solved my problems,” he said.
Despite initial confusion about when he would be vaccinated, he was able to find several local appointments. He plans to get his first shot by the end of this week.
“I’m in good shape,” he said.