Vaccine Supply And Burn Rates

Good Morning, I’m Annica Colbert….it’s Tuesday, February 2nd. County officials are charging forward with more COVID-19 vaccination sites We’ll have that story next, but first... let’s do the headlines…. San Diego county public health officials reported more than 1,000 new covid-19 infections on Monday and no additional deaths. That’s the lowest daily case total in more than a month. And while there were more than 300 new hospitalizations, the overall rate continues to decline. San Diego Councilwoman Monica Montgomery has been appointed to the state task force exploring the idea of reparations for Black people in California. The appointment was made on Monday by California Senate President Pro-temp Toni Atkins. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that mandated the creation of the nine-person task force in October of last year. San Diego’s Flu season so far has been very different than flu seasons of the past. We’re about halfway through the season right now, and there’s more than 600 confirmed flu cases and no deaths. That’s compared to the same time last year where there were 10,000 flu cases and 32 deaths. Doctors say the same measures that stop coronavirus from spreading also help prevent the flu from spreading. From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need. A lack of supply of vaccines has been an ongoing issue in California and here in San Diego. KPBS Health reporter Tarryn Mento tells us about how local health care providers are keeping track of vaccinations The long lines at Petco Park may be frustrating. But a steady stream of idle arms makes for a higher burn rate -- that’s the window between receiving and administering doses UCSD Health CEO Patty Maysent says the state wants vaccinators to keep it short. ID: Patty Maysent / UCSD Health CEO [01:07] that we're able to administer the vaccine within a week's time from getting an allocation to it in arms, and then that will drive further allocation to us as a region The key to proving that is the San Diego Immunization Registry — county officials previously told KPBS it was mostly used for childhood vaccinations, but now it’s mandated for all COVID-19 shots. Larger providers have electronic health records to automatically report immunizations to the registry but smaller providers may need to get up to speed. UCSD’s Maysent says entering information quickly is crucial. [20:29] it is the visibility that the state has for for what we've talked about, the burn rate and the and the allocation and what's in the freezer. So it absolutely is very important San Diego County set a goal to fully vaccinate 1.8 million residents by July. So far the county says just over 53,500 San Diegans received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. But it notes data may be missing because of reporting delays. Tarryn Mento, KPBS News. The county also says doses administered by the military or veterans administration in san diego may not be included in its tally.………. Otherwise, about 16,000 people a day are receiving a COVID-19 vaccines from San Diego County vaccination sites. That’s below the county’s daily goal....largely due to supply challenges. We go back to KPBS health reporter Tarryn Mento again. She spoke with Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten and Health and Human Services Agency Director, Nick Macchione about the vaccine roll out. Here’s part of that interview... .... That was part of KPBS Health Reporter Tarryn Mento’s interview with Dr. Wilma Wooten and Nick Macchione. We’ll bring you more of this conversation later this week. While the state and county are still working out the next phase of covid-19 vaccinations….. homeless service providers in san diego are making their own plans.…. kpbs’ max rivlin-nadler reports. Getting an appointment for a vaccine is already tricky….. And that’s if you already have access to a phone or computer…. Dr. Jeffrey Norris, the Chief Medical Officer at Father Joe’s Villages, one of San Diego’s leading homeless service providers, says it’ll be even harder for the homeless. For folks who for whatever reason have trouble using the internet or have chaos in their lives, or are, for example, experiencing homelesness, signing up for and getting an appointment for a vaccine is certainly a challenging endeavor. His organization is already laying the groundwork for mass vaccination events, to vaccinate people in its shelters downtown…. And reaching out to those currently living on the street. But it’s up to the state to decide when to begin offering vaccinations to the homeless. It recently scrapped a plan to prioritize them in the next phase…. In favor of doing vaccinations by age… a decision Norris disagrees with. That story from KPBS’ Max Rivlin-Nadler. New data from San Diego County shows COVID-19 regulations during lockdown DID help slow the spread of the virus. KPBS reporter Jacob Aere says limiting local travel is why it worked. Public health data shows COVID-19 outbreaks at restaurants and retail spaces fell drastically during the most recent stay-at-home order. UC San Diego Professor of Epidemiology Andrea LaCroix says our lack of community movement helped decrease the outbreaks. “According to the state data they determined that the mobility of people... showed 40 percent less movement in the community in all places, its agnostic to which places.” Over the course of the pandemic, San Diego County has identified more than 1,100 community-setting outbreaks. Those outbreaks led to just three percent of the county's total cases. That was KPBS’ Jacob Aere. A bill proposed in Sacramento will allow candidates without a law enforcement background to run for county sheriff. CapRadio’s Scott Rodd reports. Currently, candidates for sheriff must have law enforcement experience or certification. Democratic Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco says he wants to change that. WIENER-1: “They’re often the most or one of the most power elected officials in the county. And almost no one can challenge them. And that’s why there’s so little diversity among our sheriffs.” He notes the current eligibility requirements were established in the late 1980s. The bill was developed in partnership with the California Immigrant Policy Center. Orville Thomas is director of government affairs at the center. He says the changes would invite more conversations about topics like police funding and mental health response. THOMAS-1: “This would offer an opportunity for other voices in the community to run for sheriff and to open up a larger dialog so that voters can decide what the role of sheriff should be in their community and who should play that role.” Thomas says the center is also concerned about recent sheriff interactions with federal immigration services...which can lead to deportations. The state Sheriff’s Association has not taken a position on the bill. But legislative director Cory Salzillo raised concerns about nixing the candidate requirements. SALZILLO-1: “It's not clear how erasing those standards would create more accountability for the office of the sheriff.” He says policing requires “very technical skills” … and that candidates without a law enforcement background may lack the knowledge to run a sheriff’s department. The Legislature last year passed a law that allows counties to install an inspector general or review board to oversee sheriff departments. SOC And that was Capradio’s Scott Rodd reporting. In another proposal, California lawmakers are considering an online portal where sexual assault survivors can track the status of evidence related to their case. CapRadio’s Nicole Nixon reports. State Senator Connie Leyva is determined to cut down on a backlog of untested rape kits. That’s why she’s running a bill that would track a kit’s journey from the hospital to the crime lab. LEYVA: This bill will empower survivors and help them to regain a sense of control. <<:06>> Leyva says requiring law enforcement to upload data to a state-run website would compel them to test their kits more quickly. Joanne Archambault [pro: Ar-sham-BOH] — with End Violence Against Women International — says she supports the legislation. But she says the status of a rape kit is just one part of an assault case. ARCHAMBAULT: It doesn’t tell them anything about how that’s going to impact the investigation or what’s being done with the investigation.” <<:09>> She says victims should also be kept in-the-loop about other DNA evidence that may have been collected from clothing or bedding. SOC That was CapRadio’s Nicole Nixon. Coming up.... a group of House Democrats has introduced resolutions this week to censure or remove newly elected representative from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene. “To me the most egregious are her calling for the execution of President Obama, of Speaker Pelosi of Secretary Clinton.” We’ll have that story next, just after the break. There’s been tension in the house of representatives after the January 6th insurrection. Some in Congress have refused to comply with new metal detectors installed to search for concealed weapons. Right now, attention is focused on the newly elected representative from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is a QAnon believer and has shown support on social media for physical violence against other politicians. Now some in Congress want to censure her. A Censure resolution was co-sponsored by San Diego Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who spoke with Midday Edition host Maureen Cavanaugh. San Diego Congresswoman Sara Jacobs is sponsoring a move to censure Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Censure requires a simple majority to pass...expulsion requires a two thirds majority. That’s it for the podcast today. Be sure to catch KPBS Midday Edition At Noon on KPBS radio, or check out the Midday podcast. You can also watch KPBS Evening Edition at 5 O’clock on KPBS Television, and as always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Annica Colbert. Thanks for listening and have a great day.