Dear Friends,

With the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in a successful transfer of national leadership last week, many of us are smiling a little more broadly, and likely sounding a deep collective sigh. I was heartened to see President Biden sign one of his first executive orders acknowledging our incredible challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic – physically, mentally and, definitely, financially. With a new administration nationally, I feel more confident to share how this affects us locally. 


Vaccine Distribution – Yes, the County is rolling out the plan, and patience remains critical to our success 
Just as our County and community tenaciously worked together over the past nine months to set up testing sites with rapid results, provide information on COVID-19 transmission, increase the supplies of test kits, source more personal protective equipment, and develop safety guidelines for businesses and essential employees… We are faced with the new formidable challenge of working with our local health care providers to organize vaccine distribution based in Washington DC, using the phases and tiers developed in Sacramento by the State of California. To see a detailed explanation of how these phases and tiers were supposed to impact us in Sonoma County, you can click here.

That system might have worked as planned, except the Governor suddenly announced on Monday, January 25 that all residents 65+ are now eligible to receive vaccines – with a totally inadequate supply of vaccines throughout the state, and the nation. Please pay attention to the state discussion on vaccine supply, distribution, and the tier system of eligibility. Information is changing almost by the hour and we’re learning about it from media coverage just like you are.

I have heard from so many of you, voicing your frustration and anger over your inability to get appointments for vaccines, even after waiting hours on the telephone with your healthcare providers – or your healthcare provider telling you that they have no knowledge of vaccine availability.

I understand and share your frustration. Even as a qualified senior myself, I have not been vaccinated, and many older seniors and medically vulnerable residents report that they are also struggling to access vaccines. The major obstacle is lack of supply — we don’t yet have enough vaccines in our county even for our front-line healthcare workers. 

The County is hosting public meetings every Wednesday at 5:00 PM on Facebook Live. Please schedule a reminder for yourself to attend these meetings when possible. All of these are live streamed on the County of Sonoma’s Facebook page, and archived on the County's YouTube page after airing, if you want to see recent videos. You can also find more information on the County’s vaccine information page and When Will I Get My Vaccine page. Both of these pages are updated regularly. Please keep in mind that much of this information is out of date almost instantly, so please subscribe to both to stay up to date as this is a rapidly developing situation with a lot of moving parts.  
 

The County’s role in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is logistics
We are actively planning and preparing for the distribution of vaccines. Hospitals, healthcare systems, and community clinics will administer vaccines in compliance with federal, state and county requirements. Federal authorities also have created partnerships with CVS and Walgreens to disseminate the vaccines through mobile clinics, inside nursing homes and care facilities all over the country. The County has submitted plans (PDF) with local vaccine distribution plans to the State Department of Public Health.
Now that there are approved vaccines for COVID-19 in the United States, here are eight things I wanted to emphasize about the new COVID-19 Vaccination Program and COVID-19 vaccines themselves:

The safety of COVID-19 vaccines is our top priority. The U.S. vaccine safety system ensures that all vaccines are as safe as possible.
 
COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19. For the currently approved vaccines, TWO shots are needed. Depending on the specific vaccine you get, a second shot is needed 3 or 4 weeks after your first shot to get the most protection the vaccine has to offer against this serious disease.
 
Right now, CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccine be given to healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities. Because the current supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States is limited, CDC recommends that initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccine be offered to healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents. Seniors 65+ years old and teachers are next in priority.
 
There is currently a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, but supply will increase in the weeks and months ahead. The goal is for everyone to easily get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible. Once large enough quantities of the vaccine are widely available, the plan is to have several thousand vaccination providers offering COVID-19 vaccines in doctors’ offices, retail pharmacies, hospitals, and federally qualified health centers.
 
After COVID-19 vaccination, you may have some side effects, especially after the second shot. This is a normal sign that your body is building protection. Some noted side effects from COVID-19 vaccination, such as fatigue, may feel like the flu and might even affect your ability to do daily activities, but they are reportedly going away in one to a few days. 
 
Cost is not an obstacle to getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine doses purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be given to the American people at no cost. However, vaccination providers may be able to charge administrative fees for costs involved with giving the shot. As vaccinations become more widely available, these potential minor fees should be clearer and it’s a situation which I will continue to track and monitor. 
 
The first COVID-19 vaccines are being used under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Other vaccines are still being developed and tested, including a single dose option from Johnson & Johnson, which may alleviate some of the supply problems and speed up our timeline locally.
 
COVID-19 vaccines are one of many important tools to help us stop this pandemic. Even after vaccination, it’s important for everyone to continue to cover your mouth and nose with a mask, stay at least 6 feet away from others, avoid crowds, and wash your hands often — to help stop the spread as we see how these vaccines work in real-world conditions. 

Facts in Sonoma County
  • Sonoma County has received about 33,000 doses of vaccine and administered a little more than 20,000 at the time of this writing. 
  • We are currently in Phase 1A of vaccination distribution which prioritizes healthcare workers, including staff of behavioral health hospitals, first responders and others who qualify under Phase 1A. 
  • We received our first vaccine shipment on December 17, 2020. Subsequent shipments of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine arrive weekly. 
  • Six acute care hospitals in Sonoma County are receiving vaccine doses directly from the State to vaccinate their frontline healthcare workers: Kaiser Permanente, Memorial Hospital, Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, Petaluma Valley Hospital, Healdsburg Hospital and Sonoma Valley Hospital.
  • CVS and Walgreens are working with the Center for Disease Control to send pharmacists to vaccinate staff and residents of long-term care facilities.
  • Like much of the country, we saw a holiday spike in cases. While it may be too early to say this definitively, it is our hope that new cases will continue to decrease as this graph from the The Press Democrat shows:

Next Steps
With about 500,000 residents in Sonoma County, we are struggling with the Governor's directive to vaccinate everyone aged 65 and up — an estimated 105,000 residents — while we struggle to work through Phase 1A to vaccinate healthcare workers. The new State order is especially difficult since the State has not increased our vaccine supply. 

Noting that, once you are eligible for vaccination and we have enough vaccine doses, your primary care provider will likely be the one to provide it. Kaiser and Sutter have now opened appointments for members over age 75, for example. If you fall into this category and want a vaccine, please contact your healthcare provider for details. 

The County is actively communicating with healthcare providers to ensure they can efficiently vaccinate their patients. The County itself does not have the staff to administer vaccines to the general population. However, we are recruiting retired medical professionals, dentists and firefighters to staff vaccination sites for those residents lacking a direct healthcare provider. If you are a licensed medical professional and would like to volunteer at the clinics, please register at Authorized-Licensees (ca.gov)

As the vaccine supply increases, the County will operate pop-up vaccination distribution sites to serve areas outside of the Highway 101 corridor, including Sonoma Valley, Oakmont, and areas in the West and North County. 

Vaccine distribution speed and operation varies from county to county, and, we’re told, depends on population size, demographics, and medical personnel availability. Please remember what applies for one county may not apply for another. Vaccine distribution is complex. Availability is still limited and communication is critical. Please be patient and encourage others to be, as well. 

I am so relieved that the State has announced that we are opening up and transitioning out of our stay-at-home orders, but we are still in the purple tier and we still need to exercise caution to stop the spread.


COVID-19 Financial Assistance
At our January 26 meeting, the Board of Supervisors tackled the very serious issue of providing critically needed assistance for residents seeking food and rental assistance, and small business owners who are hurting. Our goal is to help bridge the financial gaps they face until we can get out of this public health crisis. 

Cumulatively, Sonoma County has implemented aid under the following programs:

Food Distribution $3.8 M
Financial Assistance through On the Move/CURA $8.125 M
Business Relief $2.5 M
Rental Assistance and Legal Aid Defense $4.8 M
Gift Cards for COVID-19 Testing $0.8 M
Hotel Accommodations for Isolation and Quarantine $2.6 M

At an earlier meeting in January, we added gap funding for food distribution and COVID-19 financial response. And this week, we agreed to allocate $5 M from a reserve fund to plug the gaps in the services above, as well as add funds to waive environmental health permit fees for businesses moving to reopen in the next few months.
We also agreed to extend and expand sick leave and rental eviction defense moratorium ordinances, in conjunction with the hard work at the federal and state levels to provide financial support and legal protections to these efforts. The details for these ordinances will come back to the Board at our meeting on Tuesday, February 9.
  
For details on this discussion and to see the live stream of this meeting, please refer to the staff report at: https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/calendar.aspx

We have to be patient in receiving our vaccines. I know this is hard. I have not seen my grandchildren in person in almost a year. I, too, have waited this long for my first shot, sheltered in place and minimized my contact with others. But every day is a new day, we have a new national administration, and we have hope. There will be difficulties ahead, and we do need to wait a little longer. But the end is within sight. 
Be safe, be well.




Susan Gorin, 1st District Supervisor