Week 43 coronavirus update – still very limited vaccine availability

The vaccine distribution and administration process is a much more complex process than appears on the surface. This is a process infinitely easier to talk about than accomplish. I hope to illustrate some of the complexities in this post to allow an understanding of how difficult it is to vaccinate 200,000,000+ Americans with the COVID-19 vaccines that currently undersupply the need.

The short answer

There is still not enough vaccine.

The longer answers

Despite all the news about COVID-19 vaccines becoming available,

• the distribution is slower than anticipated AND
• there are still only two vaccines available AND
• they require sub-zero degree storage AND
• most of those vaccines will be used up on healthcare workers, first responders, and care facility workers and residents AND
• unless there is a third and fourth vaccine approved, vaccinations to individuals outside the three groups above will likely not commence until at least March or April.

As of this date, there are no secondary vaccination centers outside the hospital systems and large HMO’s like Kaiser. I have heard rumors of sign up lists, but their reality is hard to come by.

In previous discussions about vaccine distribution across the country, the use of pharmacies with broad distribution chains like CVS, Walgreens, Safeway, etc. has came up to help vaccine distribution after the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are given. Yet in speaking with several local pharmacies, they are not making major plans to become public vaccination centers yet.

I found that curious until I began to understand how time consuming and resource intensive it is to vaccinate the “general public”.

Requirements to become a public vaccination center in Colorado

The Colorado Health Department stated that my practice could get the vaccine for distribution HOWEVER

• we would be listed on their site as a public vaccine center and
• have to accept walk-ins and
• be open 12+ hours a day
• have a registry for tracking vaccinated individuals and reminding them of their second vaccine and
• send that information to the CDPHE and the CDC.

Clearly those requirements are well beyond the capacity of all but the largest of organizations with staff and facilities to safely store the vaccine, administer it, and comply with the data entry and reporting requirements.

What is it like to get the COVID-19 vaccine? Unfortunately it’s not just walk in, get your flu shot, and go home.

The process for getting the vaccine once at the hospital involved

• 20 minutes at the hospital to walk in, get in line, fill out paperwork (Three-fourths of the paperwork were medical-legal disclosures.)
• 10 minutes of intake to make sure I wasn’t sick, scan my paperwork and driver’s license, check that I was on the schedule, and schedule my follow up vaccine then
• get the vaccine
• get a little piece of paper to guard with my life and bring back to log the second vaccine. I was told that this would be needed to allow me to travel at a later date.
• sitting for 15 minutes to make sure I didn’t have an immediate reaction

Now multiply that by 100’s of thousands just in Colorado and millions upon millions in the US. No wonder major pharmacies and medical practices do not want to get into the public vaccination process of providing paperwork, entering the data, and reporting to state and federal registries for anyone but their own patients.

Vaccination through my practice (and other practices) is still a hope

Reflecting on my experience of getting the vaccine, a large amount of time was spent filling out paperwork and scanning data.

My hope is that vaccines 2, 3, 4…. can be shipped directly to my office where we can easily vaccinate those in my practice. We already have everyone’s information and are set up for vaccine reporting.

My current best guess scenario for what will happen in the next 2-6 months

I suspect there will continue to be a by-invitation-only process as long as there is a shortage of vaccine.

Once all group 1a individuals have been given vaccines, the hospitals may start sending out invitations based on information they already have on you.

The other possibility is the opening of public, no reservation vaccination centers. That process would likely require additional facilities and have a first-come-first-serve schedule.

(Remember when as a teenager you went to Red Rocks at sunrise to stand in line until the gates opened at noon to get the best seats in the house for the evening concert? Yeah, I did it twice! James Taylor, early 1970’s. Still red from the sunburn, but they were the best seats ever!! Oops, sorry for the digression…just brought back some good old memories of standing in line.)

So much is unknown still.

What to do?

Remain patient. IF you have the opportunity to get the available vaccines, do so.

There will be much more talk on the news before we gain capacity to vaccinate those outside of the first group.

Remember, there is still not enough vaccine. But there will be enough, just not as soon as we would all like.

Stay well, continue good safety measures, and stay in touch.