Dear Friends,
I am hearing from hundreds of people about the issues with the vaccine roll out, and trust me, I agree with you – I am frustrated, too. The good news is that, as of February 9, 15% of the county’s population of 411,096 residents aged 16+ have received at least one dose of vaccine; this includes 42% of all residents aged 75+. The truth is, the Governor prematurely announced that everyone over 65 was eligible to receive a vaccine – but there are not enough vaccines to go around.
To make the most of our vaccine supplies and prioritize those who are most vulnerable, Sonoma County initially prioritized those 75 and above in the distribution of vaccines in our community; this week it will be dropped to 70+ and then 65+ as more are vaccinated and vaccine supply increases. Also beginning this week, eligibility will be expanded to agricultural workers, and teachers/school staff will access vaccinations at Rancho Cotati High School. It is important to reopen our schools safely and as quickly as possible, for the health and learning of our children.
A lot of folks reaching out to me are bringing up other counties and how their vaccinations are going – that they are scheduling centrally at the County, vaccinating people 65 and up, school workers, and other groups that we don’t have the capacity to serve right now. I completely understand how frustrating it is when friends in Long Beach or Marin are vaccinated while you are not even eligible here, but there are a few different factors to consider.
Each County must create its own vaccine plan that best meets the demographics, geography, medical system providing care, etc. Sonoma County is partnering with our major medical providers and has developed eligibility tiers based on data showing the disproportionate impacts of COVID on certain classes of workers and older seniors. Roughly 64% of the 275 deaths that have occurred in Sonoma County since the pandemic began have been those age 75 and above. January was the deadliest month of the pandemic so far with 103 deaths.
Some counties actually directly provide health care (they have County hospitals) where we do not. Since we don’t have the built-in infrastructure of a large hospital operated by our County, we need to partner with our medical providers including Kaiser, Sutter, St. Josephs, all of our Health Care Clinics (FQHCs), hospitals, primary care groups, medical associations and Safeway.
In addition, we suspect that the State is sending allocation based on small, medium and large counties, without real consideration of the difference in size of some small counties. With 500,000 residents we are considered small, but are three times the size of Napa and twice the size of Marin. We have been unable to confirm this allocation methodology, but it makes sense considering both Napa and Marin are working into the 65+ tier. We have reached out to our State elected representatives to get a reasonable explanation, but the information appears to be elusive even for them. I explain all of this not to make excuses, but to share exactly what is happening with this roll out. We know the community is upset about this process, and we are, too.
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Vaccination progress by county, as of February 7, 2021. |
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Given that our region is known as a retirement destination, Sonoma County is home to roughly 102,000 residents who are 65 and over, representing about 25% of our total adult population. Quite simply, Sonoma County does not have enough vaccines to address this demand. We have been receiving around 6,000 vaccines per week (now increasing to 7,500 doses), not including those provided to our large health systems (Kaiser, Sutter and St. Josephs) which receive vaccine supply directly from the State. The CVS/Walgreen’s partnership, responsible for vaccinating residential care facilities, receives supply from the Federal Government.
This is why the County initially focused on those 75 and above, about 36,000 residents. This group represents those most vulnerable, most at risk and, in general, least tech-savvy and thus least able to schedule vaccinations online without assistance. This commitment to those 75 and above is shared by our health care partners including Kaiser, Sutter, St. Joseph, and health care clinics who also are prioritizing this age group in their vaccinations. We are coordinating but often move independently; Sutter just announced that it was beginning to vaccinate those 65+.
I know that there are vulnerable folks who are not over 75, and we are gradually expanding to lower ages, but we are asking our clinics to reserve doses for those 75+. This is the age group that is the least able to navigate technology and schedule appointments. And we are collaborating with organizations providing services to seniors in all communities, but especially those who are homebound or without technology or language skill, to implement innovative ways to outreach and sign up seniors and provide transportation to vaccine distribution sites. Send me your ideas! We owe it to them and their families to identify them and prioritize them for vaccines.
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In our County, there are a few ways for our residents 70+ to be vaccinated, and more are coming online every day. The following locations, among others around the county, are or have been open and accepting appointments:
We will be rolling out additional vaccination sites such as the Sonoma Veteran’s Building, as the Sonoma IT reports in this article, which is scheduled to open on February 16. Please think about the people in your life who are eligible, and consider helping them navigate the sign-up process at one of the available sites, particularly if they struggle as so many of us do with technology.
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The fact remains that our supply does not even begin to meet the need. Information changes on a daily and sometimes hourly basis; as soon as I reply to a constituent or send out a newsletter, the information is out of date. The County hosts public meetings Wednesdays at 5:00 PM live on Facebook, and additional press conferences as needed. Please keep an eye out for these meetings and attend when possible. All of these are livestreamed on the County of Sonoma Facebook page, and archived on the County's Youtube page after airing. These are a great way for the community to stay informed.
I encourage you to continue to reach out to trusted sources of information, including the County’s updates and Vaccine Information page, for updates.
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Susan Gorin, 1st District Supervisor
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