When California first received the dose of Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in mid-December, hospitals rushed to administer it to their frontline workers. Next in line were long-term workers. But a month later, the state is experiencing a disturbing delay, and vaccines are not coming into the weapon as it should.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed by Bloomberg, on January 22, the state administered only 37.3 percent of the 4,379,500 doses it received. California’s percentage of doses is the lowest in the country. It is followed by Minnesota, Virginia, Alabama, Nevada and Kansas. (Jurisdictions with the highest percentage of applications include North Dakota, District of Columbia, West Virginia, New Mexico, and South Dakota.)
At the start of the pandemic, California was praised for the successful flattening of the curve. In recent months, the state’s largest cities have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases. With that in mind, many people ask themselves why the effect of the vaccine was such a mess? And what is behind the difference in vaccines obtained and vaccinations administered?
Experts have some theories. Some say it is the result of the state’s decentralized public health system, such as dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
“Part of the problem is that California is, of course, the most populous state, and therefore it really reflects that it is not a national health system or state health system,” Chin-Hong said. ‘What you find are a lot of duplications, retrenchments or gaps – you could, for example, be a nurse and get an offer to get a vaccine in a nursing home if you work there, but if you also work in the hospital , you will also receive an invitation. ‘
Chin-Hong said that some health workers receive “multiple invitations” while others do not receive invitations at all – and these are just health workers. For sections of the general population, such as those over 65 who, according to Governor Gavin Newsom, were immediately eligible for the vaccine last week, it is even more difficult to get a vaccine for other reasons – namely a lack of vaccines.
“California is currently leading the country to COVID, especially in Southern California, and it makes health workers who would normally administer the vaccines scarce,” Chin-Hong said. “And calling in an army of volunteers has not been as smooth as one might think.”
Finally, Chin-Hong said there was a lack of transparency between the state, health workers and the public around what was happening.
“No one really understands why we have such a difference in terms of how many doses have been allocated and how many have come out in the arms of people in California,” he said, noting that there is some variation within this sentiment .
In Long Beach, for example, food workers are vaccinated; teachers are already next in line. Meanwhile, in the San Francisco Bay Area, 90,000 health workers at the forefront are eligible to receive the vaccine as part of the first phase (Phase 1a) of vaccinations. According to San Francisco’s new vaccine tracker, 48,658 doses were administered in San Francisco – but not everyone who received one lives in San Francisco (they can work in a health care facility in the city). Only an estimated 31,189 eligible San Franciscans received at least one dose of the vaccine. Technically, those 65 and older are eligible to be vaccinated, but they are officially part of Phase 1b.
San Francisco supervisor Matt Haney said there had been a “lack of transparency” and “a lot” of confusion until this week.
“We’re making progress this week, but before Tuesday there was not even a place to sign up, and it’s as basic as it gets,” Haney said. “I think local and state governments will want to blame everything on the supply, and I think the supply is definitely a reason why we can not give the vaccine to everyone tomorrow as we want. But the lack of stock is not.” an excuse for poor communication or no communication, and a lack of transparency and a lack of real responsibility for widespread distribution. ‘
Haney said local governments that appear to be ready are getting their vaccines in the arms of people.
Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety, told Salon that when it comes to states that are effective in administering available vaccines, preparedness was key. And unlike in cities like San Francisco, it’s the states with more rural populations that seem to be cooperating because they’ve put together plans in advance. As reported by Reuters, West Virginia has opted for a ‘hyper-local’ approach, working with independent pharmacies. By the end of last month, the state had already offered the vaccine to all its residents. In particular, West Virginia has opted for a distribution partnership between the federal government and CVS and Walgreens.
“I think it was a very proactive approach that started long before the vaccine was available, which made it possible for some of the countries to move much faster,” Adalja said. “West Virginia is a state where, paradoxically, many people think they do not have enough resources – and that’s why I think they were very proactive.”
Adalja said it was possible that much larger states were waiting for federal support, but that funding had only passed until Christmas weekend.
“I think it really has to do with proactivity, but a lot of the blame does not necessarily lie with the state, but mostly lies with the federal government because it does not give enough time in this last mile of vaccination and actually only accepts that once the vaccine was delivered, that everything would just work smoothly, not run smoothly, “Adalja said, noting that the COVID-19 vaccine could not be administered like a flu vaccine ‘immediately’.
Californians are now hopeful that a change of guard will bring a sigh of relief. President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a national plan to speed up the process.
Dr. Chin-Hong said a national strategy would definitely help, especially if this is the first time the country has one. But he fears the confusion in California is also a symptom that public health has been consistently underfunded for years.
“Public health has been reimbursed for many years, so you can’t host a Broadway show overnight,” he said.