Hopkins says Sonoma County needs to manage coronavirus vaccination appointments

“If we’re talking about working more closely with our healthcare partners, we really believe we need to treat them as partners and get them involved in the conversation,” Coursey said. It was.

Supervisor Susan Gorin argued that changes to plans and coordination would not be successful without better communication from the county, noting that there remains concern among many local seniors. did.

“I’m the county responsibly seeking plans,” Gorin said. “But I want to see the results. What does it achieve?”

Hopkins did not provide details on what her proposal would actually look like. Much of what she explained has returned to creating a central hub for vaccination applications within the county. This is the process she believes can avoid catastrophes such as the Optum Serve experience. That means having a large hospital follow the instructions from the county.

In the current configuration, these healthcare providers receive individual vaccine doses and process their own appointment schedules. If the Hopkins plan is implemented, the county can guide those who will receive those appointments.

For Hopkins, it’s a matter of fairness. She said many of the people who flooded the OptumServe system with reservations and crashed were affiliated with one of the major healthcare providers. If the county is vaccinated against members, she wonders why providers should not provide doses to county residents outside their system.

“It’s crazy considering how many private companies are investing in today’s agenda with a $ 8 million price tag,” she said. “And we offer them free facilities. They can come and occupy the trade fair or Sonoma Veterans Building. They should do it perfectly. But bargains. Where is the end? They make a lot of money. “

The hospital group was hesitant to provide a detailed assessment because there was no written response plan.

A representative of Kaiser Permanente said the company has already provided vaccinations to non-members. He said he could get an appointment and medical record number if possible by calling 866-454-8855.

A St. Joseph Health spokeswoman provided a link explaining that her company is contacting eligible recipients for bookings.

“If the idea expressed by Supervisor Hopkins takes a particular form, we will evaluate it at that point,” the company said in a release. “Anyway, our focus is on doing what we can to immunize caregivers and community members as effectively as possible, and working with the county to follow the guidelines provided by public health. We will continue to focus. “

Sutter Health did not provide comments.

The vaccine program, announced on Tuesday, will fund the county to increase the number of local vaccinated people, reach out to stakeholders, make information publicly available, and carry out other services until June 30. Provide. Current FEMA funding covers 75% of $ 8.1 million. The source of the other 25% is unknown.

Since the program began on December 15, more than 38,000 people have been vaccinated in Sonoma County, of which more than 9,000 have received both of the two required doses. This does not include residents and staff of long-term care facilities served by CVS and Walgreens.

Sonoma’s CVS pharmacy was announced on February 11 as one of California’s 100 pharmacies selected to administer shots to eligible recipients, about 1,785 times daily in the past week. Immunization efforts in the inoculated counties were boosted. .. These doses (numbers not disclosed) are obtained directly from federal partnerships and are not deducted from Sonoma County quotas.

However, as vaccination campaigns expand, there is still confusion about who can be vaccinated.

On Tuesday, rumors spread that people under the age of 75 were able to make reservations this weekend at the Sonoma Valley High School drive-through site run by Sonoma Valley Hospital. In addition, some Oakmont Village residents have been notified that they must cancel their reservations on Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays if they are under the age of 75. Of the 800 slots filled for safeway-operated clinics, at least 520 slots range from 65 to 74.

“By letting people under the age of 75 cancel their reservations, we can avoid the possibility of canceling all reservations and requiring people over the age of 75 to change their schedule,” the retirement community manager emailed residents. I am writing.

You can contact Phil Barber (707-521-5263 or [email protected]). @Skinny_Post on Twitter.