It is difficult enough to get the first dose of coronavirus vaccine. But what about the second shot?
This is a question in the interior of residents who are fortunate enough to spray the first of two shots needed for maximum COVID-19 protection. With the second dose recommended at least 21 or 28 days after the first dose, many wonder who got the first shot, when or will get the next one.
Jason Bowen, a 48-year-old high school teacher from Menifee – teachers can be vaccinated in Riverside County – gets his first dose of Moderna vaccine on Jan. 19 by the Riverside County Department of Public Health.
“As for the second dose, my only concern is that it is available if I have to get the second chance and that I can make an appointment,” Bowen said via a direct message on Twitter. “Otherwise it’s a waste of time and I have to start all over again.”
Bowen believes the country should have an automated registration process or a separate website for those who need a second dose, because I know the one where I did my first dose is filling up fast. ‘
Officials in the counties of Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles said plans are underway to issue second doses. And doctors say it’s OK if the second shot comes after three to four weeks.
“The county is working on clinics and appointments, specifically for second doses,” Riverside County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said in an email. “The province’s first vaccine clinics were in mid-January, planning the second dose of appointments for mid-February. Once these clinics are available, we will notify residents via email and website updates. ”
Asked if the province is setting aside doses to give the second vaccine, Federico said: ‘Yes, but not before future awards are received. We do not like our current allocations to use for second doses weeks later, according to the California Department of Public Health.
She added: “We will book appointments for second doses and notify the residents when these clinics and appointments are available.”
San Bernardino County is setting aside second doses – 6,679 to be exact, with another 7,200 seconds expected this week, state spokesman David Wert said in an email on Monday, January 25th.
“People receiving first doses are sent an email notifying them of the need for their second dose, and they can make the appointment online or by calling the country’s COVID hotline,” said Wert. said.
Leonard Hernandez, CEO of San Bernardino County, announced during a board of supervisors on Tuesday, January 26, that the province will open a dedicated premises for people to receive the second dose from Thursday, January 28 – Arroyo Valley High School in San Bernardino.
“For the first few days, it will only give second doses,” Hernandez said.
And starting later this week, people who sign up for a vaccine through the San Bernardino County portal will automatically get an appointment for the second dose at the same time, he said.
Wert pointed out that most shots are given by providers other than the country, and he did not know how they would handle the second dose.
In Los Angeles County, second-dose appointments are reserved with preference over first-dose recipients. The problem, according to officials, is that they do not know exactly how many doses will come each week.
“We want to be very careful, because we can not predict the supply chain even a few weeks in advance,” said Dr. Paul Simon, chief scientific officer at the LA County Department of Public Health, said Friday, January 22nd. “There is this tension between so many people being vaccinated with the first dose and making sure that everyone who is vaccinated gets the full order for two doses.”
With much more demand for vaccines than supply, it’s just a trial to get just the first dose.
It took just 32 minutes before 10,000 appointments were demanded at the vaccination clinics in Riverside County on Saturday, January 23rd. At the same time, 3,900 appointments were snatched up on January 21st. Angry residents complain that the province’s appointment website is not working and that no one has answered the 211 phone line, which was supposed to help officials help the elderly and people without internet access to make appointments.
Others said they filled out online forms only to find that no appointments were available. Provincial officials announced on Thursday, January 21, that they need to revamp the appointment website, but it still relies on a state registration portal that frustrates users who fill out online forms, only to learn that all appointments have been booked.
Pfizer recommends that the second ingestion of the vaccine be given 21 days after the first dose. The other vaccine manufacturer, Moderna, recommends a 28-day interval between the first and second shots.
In a January 21 video posted on the Riverside County Public Health Facebook page, dr. Geoffrey Leung of Riverside University Health System – Riverside County’s healthcare network – said it’s good to get the vaccine later.
“A lot of people are worried that if they don’t get their second dose right after three weeks or four weeks … that they’re going to be in trouble,” Leung said. “And it’s not really true. You can get the second dose at any time in three weeks or four weeks or so. ‘
In the guidelines introduced on January 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave room for how quickly the second dose had to be received. It is acceptable to get the second shot up to six weeks after the first, CDC officials said.
Although ‘every effort’ must be made to ensure that the same vaccine is used for both doses, an available mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may be used in exceptional situations in which the first dose of vaccine product cannot be determined or is no longer available. , to apply. administered with a minimum interval of 28 days between doses, ‘the CDC added.
Gavin Newsom, governor of California, on Monday promised a more seamless coronavirus vaccination system that would make it easier for nearly 40 million people to know when it’s time to be vaccinated and where to report, causing the confusion. and alleviate anxiety in 58 provinces. try to roll out the rare shots yourself.
The governor said in a newsletter. The changes also include a new nationwide website called My Turn – now a pilot program in Los Angeles and San Diego – where residents can be notified when it’s their turn and make an appointment.
Staff writers David Rosenfeld and Ryan Hagen and The Associated Press contributed to this report.