Your Vaccine Questions Answered

By Zach Friend, Second District Supervisor

A year into the pandemic, the impacts of COVID-19 continue to grow in our local community. As of the time of writing this article, our County has experienced more than 11,000 local cases, more than 110 deaths and has little to no ICU bed availability.

Vaccines are one of the strongest elements of hope, and distribution has started in Santa Cruz County. While information is constantly being updated I wanted to provide some answers to frequently asked questions regarding the vaccine and timeline. Please visit the County’s vaccine website to look at the latest information in case things have changed: www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus — click on the “Vaccine” tab.

How effective are the vaccines?

The vaccines developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were approximately 95 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, according to phase 3 trial results.

How are Vaccines Distributed?

In partnership with the California Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control there are currently three avenues to distribute the vaccine.

1.  Federal Pharmacy Partnership: Facilities work directly with local pharmacies (CVS and Walgreens) to receive and administer the vaccine. Facilities such as long term care, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities fall within this category.
2. Multi-County Entities: These are large healthcare systems, such as Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter) that coordinate with the California Department of Public Health directly to receive and administer their allocation of the vaccine.
3. CalVax State Distribution: CalVax allows individual medical providers to enroll in the California COVID-19 Vaccination Program and order and administer vaccines.
4. Local Health Jurisdictions: County Public Health coordinates directly with the California Department of Public Health to receive and distribute and/or administer for all other facilities that aren’t within the federal pharmacy partnership or multi-county entities categories.

When will I receive a vaccine?

Vaccines are being distributed through a tier system that provides for priority through risk and other factors determined by the California Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control. At this point, there is no way to know exactly when vaccines will become widely available enough for the entire community to be vaccinated or even when, with the limited weekly distributions that are coming into our County, some of the highest priority tiers will be fully vaccinated. With that said, here is an overview of the tiers and the assumed timelines based on information from the state and federal government.

We are currently in Phase 1A which includes (in order): Tier 1: Acute and healthcare staff, assisted living facility staff/residents, EMTs, paramedics, dialysis center staff. Tier 2: Home health and in-home supportive services, public health, primary care staff, federally qualified health clinics & urgent care clinics, and Tier 3: Dental/oral health workers, lab workers, pharmacy staff, specialty clinics.

Phase 1B Tier 1 includes workers in education, childcare, food & agriculture, fire, law enforcement, emergency services and those age 75+. Tier 2: Workers in facilities & services, critical manufacturing, transportation & logistics. Also, people age 65-74 & high risk, incarcerated people & homeless individuals.

Phase 1C include the remainder of those 65-74 years old, individuals 50 – 64 years old, those 16-64 and high risk and workers in chemical, communications, IT, defense, finance, government operations, community-based organizations, water & wastewater. These three Phases are anticipated to be completed before the spring.

In the spring, once there are more widespread numbers of vaccines available, Phase 2 will begin all other persons older than 16 that have not already been recommended in Phases 1a, 1b or 1c and the general population will be eligible.

How many doses are needed for each person?

The current COVID-19 vaccines available use two shots, and you must use same vaccine brand for both. The shots are given several weeks apart.

According to the CDC, the first shot primes the immune system, helping it recognize the virus, and the second shot strengthens the immune response.

How are they stored?

Both of the current available vaccines require very cold storage. The Pfizer vaccine requires storage at -70 to -80 degrees Celsius (which requires a special freezer and/or dry ice for storage). The Moderna is stored at approximately -20 degrees Celsius, which can be done more readily.

How can I get more information?

Visit the local vaccine website at www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus (click on the Vaccine tab) or you can call County Health at 454-4242. Additionally, you can visit the State site at www.cdph.ca.gov.

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As always, I appreciate any feedback you may have on this (or any other County issue). I’m maintaining regular updates on social media at www.facebook.com/supervisorfriend and during the shelter-in-place order I’m hosting regular tele-townhalls with County and community leaders monthly on the first Tuesday from 6-7 pm. The call in information for the town halls is 454-2222 with the Meeting ID: 145384# – you are welcome to speak about any issue during the town halls or you can always call me at 454-2200.

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Editor’s note: On Jan. 7, the state issued vaccine recommendations to local public health departments and providers to accelerate the pace of COVID-19 vaccine administration. Under these recommendations, after appropriate efforts to reach highest priority groups, health departments and providers may offer doses to lower priority groups when high-priority demand subsides, or when doses are about to expire.

The state says local health departments and providers should immediately administer COVID-19 vaccines to individuals in all tiers of Phase 1a. This includes frontline health care workers, community health care workers, public health field staff, primary care clinics, specialty clinics, laboratory workers, dental clinics and pharmacy staff.

Local health departments and providers may allocate doses on the assumption that immunization will be accepted by some but not all who are offered the vaccine, and then offer vaccinations in the next priority tiers. For example, if a county has maximized use of the vaccine to administer individuals in Phase 1a, they should move to Tier 1 of Phase 1b while continuing to offer vaccines to those in higher priority groups.