Pasadena officials on Tuesday canceled a vaccination clinic for senior citizens, grocery stores and other essential workers of COVID-19 after hundreds of people who were not eligible for the shots signed up for appointments.
People who have not yet qualified for the vaccine according to state guidelines have claimed about 900 of the 1,500 slots in a clinic designed for people over 65 and essential workers living or working in Pasadena, said Lisa Derderian, spokeswoman for the city, said.
Many of the appointments were discussed by people who worked in the news media and in Hollywood, Derderian said, including at production companies, streaming TV services, newspapers and on the set of soap operas.
“Hundreds reported within the first hour,” Derderian said. “It was like a rapid fire.”
The Pasadena Department of Public Health sent an email last week to health care workers, senior citizens, child care workers, teachers and food workers who were previously interested in getting the vaccine, saying they were making appointments at a clinic at Pasadena City College can book.
The email tells workers to provide proof that they work in a suitable industry and live or work in Pasadena. The email also includes a registration link to California’s vaccination system, CalVax, and contains slots for five days, including Thursday.
Derderian quoted a Los Angeles Times reporter who received a link to sign up for an appointment Monday. Officials opened the registration system and saw hundreds of people with jobs in Hollywood and the news media claiming to have available slots, she said.
The registration link for Thursday’s vaccination clinic has spread like wildfire. A red letter warning could not keep the links private.
The CalVax website does not allow health departments or vaccination clinics to restrict registrations to people living or working in certain postal codes. This means that people who are not eligible for vaccinations, or who are not eligible for a specific website, can still fill out the registration forms and make an appointment.
The Pasadena Department of Health is trying to improve the screening process by contacting every person who mentions an out-of-town address on the registration form, Derderian said. Many are restaurant workers and grocery store employees who are eligible for shots and commute to the city for work, she said. Officials remind them to bring a paycheck, a letter from their employer or some other form of documentation showing that they work within the city limits.
Calling Derderian within a few days to be eligible or not to attend was 900 people. The city decided to reschedule the clinic. No new date has been confirmed.
“There would be hundreds of people who would not qualify, and they would be turned away,” Derderian said. “I’m sure the situation would have increased in many cases.”
She added: ‘We do go to ID. We will dismiss you if you do not meet the current level, if you do not live in the city or work in the city. Our health officer cannot risk her credentials or the licensing of the health department or the city’s reputation. We adhere very strictly to the guidelines. ”
The cancellation of the clinic was particularly difficult news for senior citizens who have struggled to get appointments, and who have been largely cut off from the world for a year, Derderian said. Some cried when they heard that their appointments had been moved, she said.
Local officials have complained that the state’s technology for making and managing vaccine appointments is flawed, and this does not allow them to easily book vaccine appointments for people in communities where infection rates are high and vaccination rates are low.
The problems in Pasadena reflect a situation in Los Angeles County where registration codes are intended to discuss vaccinations for residents of communities affected by COVID-19, liquidated into the hands of more privileged Angelenos, including private school teachers and Hollywood workers, such as The Times reported earlier.
Officials said the region is expected to receive its largest share of COVID-19 to date – a welcome, if possible short-lived, boost that will enable tens of thousands of additional Angelenos to get their first chance.
Swelling of this week’s total expectation of about 312,000 doses is a significant shipment of the Vaccine Johnson & Johnson, which federal drug regulators recently approved for emergency use. Officials are hopeful that the single dose of vaccine will help speed up vaccination in the country.
LA County expects to receive 53,700 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week.
Officials in the city of Los Angeles said they expect 88,000 shots this week, and most of them – nearly 68,000 – will be first doses. However, this week’s blessing may be lightning in the short term, as the effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is delayed by production issues.