Open Season for Vaccines Is Coming. Bay Area Counties Worry They Won't Have the Supply

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state is expanding vaccine eligibility to Californians age 50 and older on April 1, followed by all people 16 and older on April 15.

But that timeline worries Bay Area health officials who say demand is already far greater than supply.

Without more doses, the counties won’t be able to deal with the onslaught of newly eligible people, and health officials say the state has yet to provide a clear outlook of how much vaccine is on the way.

Santa Clara County vaccine officer Marty Fenstersheib said the county has the infrastructure to give out more shots, but not the doses.

“We have the capacity to vaccinate over 200,000 people a week,” he said. “We’re doing probably a third of that, and we are concerned, beginning next week on April 1, when we add that additional 400,000 people, that we don’t have the vaccine.”

The state told counties to expect supplies to increase later in April, but Marin County Public Health Officer Matt Willis shares Fenstersheib’s concern regarding supply.

“It’s one thing to declare everyone’s eligible, it’s another thing to have enough vaccine to deliver on that promise,” he wrote in an email.

San Francisco’s COVID-19 Command Center said in an email that “vaccine distribution to San Francisco’s health care providers and DPH is limited, inconsistent, and unpredictable,” and that the city “only learns about its weekly allotment of doses a week before delivery.”

San Francisco received just 16,000 doses of vaccine this week, and expects about the same for next week.

“Without a forecast of future allocations, planning for vaccine administration is difficult,” the health officials said.

Neetu Balram, a spokesperson for Alameda County’s health department, said the county supports the continued expansion in the state framework to get more vaccines to more people more quickly.

But she noted that “vaccine supply continues to be the greatest challenge for vaccinating more Alameda County residents and workers.”

The county has administered more than 244,000 second doses. Nearly 1 in 5 residents of Alameda County age 16 and older are fully vaccinated.

“Like every other county in the state, Contra Costa is waiting to see how much supply increases in the coming weeks,” said Scott Alonso of the Contra Costa County’s health department. “We are hopeful that with additional supply coming to us, we can continue to ensure every eligible resident that wants a shot can get one.”

Louise Rogers, chief of San Mateo County Health, said in an emailed statement that the county is looking for “greater predictability of supply” from the state.

State officials have told the counties they hope to offer a three-week vaccine projection, which Rogers said will “help us reach eligible residents with better planning and to give residents more time to schedule or come to a vaccine clinic.”

“The current supply constraints and limited advance notice make it more difficult to reach those with less flexibility in their work, care-giving or personal responsibilities,” she said.

— Kevin Stark