SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego has received more than 100,000 coronavirus vaccine doses this week, but shortages at its vaccine sites continued as the county has its eye on moving to the Red Tier.
“[Shipments are] consistently erratic and consistently unpredictable. When it arrives, we get it in circulation right away and we utilize it as fast as we possibly can,” said Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. “We still don’t have great clarity on what will be coming more than a day or two in advance and as we’ve seen in the last few weeks even when you’re told something is on its way doesn’t mean it’s actually going to arrive.”
The county has yet to receive its first shipment of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine that was recently authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The single-dose vaccine is easier to store and administer, which is expected to help speed up the path toward herd immunity although medical experts are studying whether a booster may be necessary for all of the authorized vaccines to keep up with new variants.
The county did receive shipments of the Moderna vaccine, which was needed to give second appointments for people who were vaccinated more than a month ago.
The delay forced the county to close its Petco Park vaccination site for four days. Collectively, the county's sites are operating at less than 50% capacity because there aren't enough vaccines.
On Wednesday, there were long lines of cars filled with people with appointments for their second dose of the Moderna vaccine that snaked through East Village streets. The site was the county’s first “superstation” when it opened in January. Fletcher said it will be relocated in a month because the Padres will need the lot for fans.
Earlier in the day, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he expected stadiums statewide will be allowed to reopen for in-person attendance next month, potentially signaling a long-expected announcement about changing the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy tier system. Currently, only stadiums located in counties within the Orange Tier can reopen at 20% capacity, among other restrictions.
San Diego remains in the Purple Tier after it posted an adjusted case rate of 10.8 on Tuesday. It would need a rate of less than 7.1 for three weeks to move to the Red Tier and a rate of less than 4.0 for an additional three weeks to move to Orange Tier under the current rules. San Diego has never been in Orange since the tier system was rolled out last year.
“We don’t know what the change will be, but we anticipate a change coming. We've been in conversation with them, but we'll obviously have to wait for that change. We think it could come in the coming days,” said Fletcher. “[The vaccine] begins to change the calculus so, we think it is possible in the coming days the State of California could alter the case rate need to go into a lower tier.”
Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services compiled by the American Health Care Association showed the vaccines have proved effective, so far in reducing cases. It found an 82% reduction in cases at nursing homes nationwide since Dec. 20, around when the first Skilled Nursing Facilities began vaccinating patients.
San Diego County SNFs have seen a reduction in active outbreaks over the last month.
The county reported all San Diego SNF and 93% of long-term care facilities have offered patients and staff at least their first dose of the vaccine.
So far, more than 70% of seniors have received at least their first shot.
“It’s multi-factorial,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., the county’s public health officer. “Certainly, it’s attributable to vaccinations and it’s also attributed just in general in the community to people adhering to the preventative measures that we’ve been begging people to adhere to over the last year."