Alameda County Leaders, Health Officials Address Slow Vaccination Rollout at Virtual Meeting
OAKLAND (KPIX) -- The coronavirus vaccine rollout hasn't progressed as rapidly as hoped and Alameda County officials admit it may feel as if the county is moving at a slower rate than its neighbors.
Thursday night, in an online town hall meeting, officials addressed concerns and provided some answers.
According to public health officer Nicholas Moss, Alameda County is giving 2,000 first injections and 1,000 of the second doses daily but it still doesn't have enough to vaccinate all its health care workers.
Many in the community are wondering when will it be their turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Moss says there are two reasons why the county has not been able to move to the next tier of vaccine distribution. One is the limited supply. The other is the unusually large population of health care workers. Alameda County is home to a many skilled-nursing facilities and has one of the highest number of hospital beds in the Bay Area.
"We are moving through the supply as fast as we can and we were holding some back for the second dose but now we're giving those out to keep the ball rolling," Dr. Moss explained.
The next step is to vaccinate those 75 and older and the prediction is the county can move to tier 1B of distribution by February.
Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf hopes President Biden's administration will help speed the delivery of vaccines.
"The only way that we will stop losing the ones that we love is everyone will get vaccinated when the vaccine is available to you," Mayor Schaaf said.
To accommodate mass vaccinations, the county has plans to open "super pods" otherwise known as point of dispensing sites. It expects to open those in mid February but the timeline depends on the supply of vaccine.