SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – On the same day that the province enables teachers, law enforcement and food workers to get the coronavirus vaccine, the superstar vaccination in Petco Park was once again closed.
According to a provincial spokesperson, the site, which is the largest distribution site in the country, will be closed from Saturday 27 February to Tuesday 2 March. The closure is due to a nationwide shortage of doses of Moderna coronavirus vaccine, the spokesman added.
Appointments scheduled for the weekend until early next week are rescheduled. The individuals will be notified via the country’s MyChart system to select a rescheduled date.
RELATED: San Diego County Adds Half Million Phase 1B Residents to Consider Vaccinations on Saturday
The provincial spokesman said vaccinations for teachers would not be affected as it would be administered by a different system. It was not immediately clear how the closure would affect other eligible groups on Saturday, including police officers and food workers.
Any provincial vaccination sites currently administering Pfizer vaccines will also not be affected.
This is the second weekend that the Petco Park distribution website closes. The site closed Sunday, Feb. 14 to Tuesday, Feb. 16 after a shipment of Moderna vaccines was delayed. The site closed again from Saturday 19 February to Monday 22 February after a winter storm delayed the transport of vaccines across the country.
Mitra Jamshidi arrives in Petco Park on Saturday the 27th, without realizing that the vaccination site has been closed. She said that her second dose of Moderna had already been delayed once and that the last closure meant a second delay.
“I do not really trust whether they will do it next week or not, I do not know what to do,” Jamshidi said, worried about getting her second dose within the 42-day window recommended by the CDC . .
She is not alone. ABC 10News has received dozens of emails from people who have been delayed several times and are worried about the timeline.
“I tried everywhere. The other day I spent five hours on the computer trying to get the second recording of Moderna. I know there is available for Pfizer, but not for Moderna,” says Lynne Camboo, who is taking her first dose van Vons. canceled her second dose.
In an interview last week, doctor health centers of the family of Dr. Christian Ramers in San Diego said people should try to stay within the recommended windows, but added that studies are being done to analyze the 42-day window.
“It’s actually not based on a lot of data, it’s just a recommendation, so it’s not like day 43 or something magical or otherwise happens, so we need to shoot as soon as possible or within six weeks,” said Dr. . Ramers.
He said recent studies have shown that a single dose of two-part vaccines is actually more effective than initially thought, with more than 90% protection possible. The problem is that it is unclear how long the effectiveness will last without a second dose. He said some studies in the UK were prolonging the second dose after several months and seeing promising results.
“We would like it not to be delayed because we want to stick to what the clinical trial told us, but I think in theory it should still work well to get the booster dose a little later,” he said. the dr. Ramers said.
Saturday marked the beginning of the province’s effort to vaccinate another half a million San Diegans who qualify under Phase 1B of California’s vaccination distribution plan. Educators, emergency services personnel and food and agricultural workers now qualify. Residents 65 and older in that phase have already been vaccinated.