About 500,000 Sandieguinos, the vast majority who work in health care, are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a county announcement this week.
The full list, published in the website The county includes a broad swath of healthcare professionals, paramedics, pharmacists, and nursing home residents and staff.
The county encourages everyone who falls into these categories to contact their health care provider and those without a provider to call 2-1-1 or visit 211sandiego.org.
The news couldn’t come fast enough for Dr. Walter Cohen, a Kearny Mesa primary care physician, who said he and many others have been frustrated that few vaccines are reaching the vast local medical community beyond. from hospitals.
“There is a lack of effort to register who we are and invite practitioners so that there can be an organized response,” Cohen said.
Cohen practices osteopathy, in which doctors place their hands on patients to influence internal body structures, and sees about 10 patients a day.
Although he said he takes all possible precautions, he has often learned that a patient he was treating was infected with the coronavirus.
But while the recent news encouraged Cohen, the expansion of vaccine eligibility came with a warning from the county: “as long as there are enough doses.”
The county reported Wednesday that they received 120,000 doses of the vaccine and 51,000 San Diego residents have been inoculated. That may be an understatement due to reporting delays, and the figures do not include doses sent to the military or administered in nursing homes through a partnership with CVS and Walgreens. For now, the county is not reporting the total number of vaccine doses that have reached San Diego that have reached the arms of residents.
But the bottom line is that demand for vaccines still exceeds supply, with county Health and Human Services agency director Nick Macchione saying during a Thursday session that it will take a few weeks to complete this first phase of vaccination. . At the moment, the county has not provided a clear timetable for moving to the next phase of vaccination, which includes adults age 75 and older, as well as essential workers such as teachers, storytellers, firefighters and police officers. .
For more information, visit the COVID-19 vaccine page at sandiegocounty.gov.
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