Still no local vaccination event dates as of March 1

Dates for local vaccination events have still not been announced by the Fallbrook Regional Health District as the county continues to feel the effects of vaccine shortages, CEO Rachel Mason said in an email update at the end of last week.

It wasn’t clear as of press time March 1 exactly when the health district will be able to coordinate vaccine events in the Fallbrook area, but Mason said in her Feb. 26 update that events should be announced sometime the week of March 1.

“The (v)accination events that were either postponed or cancelled have started being rescheduled,” Mason said in her update. “There will be another delay as the county seeks to get caught up on second shots. Meaning that we are still awaiting county notice before our vaccination events can be rescheduled.”

The vaccine shortage also resulted in the closure of San Diego County’s largest vaccination site, the Petco Park COVID-19 vaccination superstation, as of press time March 1. The closure was expected to last through March 2.

According to UC San Diego Health, which runs the Petco Park site, all appointments for Feb. 27 through March 2 will be rescheduled.

It is the third time in as many weeks that the site has had to close due to vaccine shortages.

The closure comes at an inopportune time, as more than 500,000 emergency services, child care and education and food and agriculture workers were scheduled to be eligible to receive vaccines beginning this week.

The county's existing doses will be largely reserved for second doses. Other vaccination superstations, including the one at Cal State San Marcos, and smaller points of distribution, will continue to administer second doses this weekend and into next week, as supplies allow.

For those in the Fallbrook-Bonsall area, FRHD was directing local residents to try seeking vaccines through Tri-City Medical Center or Rite Aid.

Tri-City now has twice weekly vaccination clinics, and appointments are released at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to FRHD. Appointments can be made at https://book.appointment-plus.com/ctbdj1vx/#/.

FRHD said Rite Aid is currently only doing first dose appointments and has had to cancel many appointments, but recommended local residents check their website (https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/covid-qualifier) to see if new appointments become available.

Palomar Health also opened up a vaccination clinic in downtown Escondido, which will be open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, though due to shortages Palomar only makes appointments available two days in advance.

The hospital’s website notes that appointments may be cancelled if supply is unavailable. Palomar Health’s vaccination webpage can be accessed at https://www.palomarhealth.org/about-us/covid-vaccine.

Mason also said in her email update that https://www.vaccinateca.com/near-me?zip=92028 is a helpful webpage to utilize for locating commercial pharmacy and similar vaccination sites.

San Diego County’s vaccination webpage can be found at Vaccinationsuperstationsd.com.

And Mason noted that with the county opening Tier 1B-2 for vaccinations on Feb. 27, teachers and education staff are now eligible to receive vaccines. They can do so through the California Schools Volunteer Employee Benefits Association system at https://vebavaccinates.com/site/vaccination.

Vaccines for law enforcement personnel will be organized through Scripps Health, Mason said.

Apart from vaccinations, FRHD announced one COVID-19 testing event in March, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 26 at Vallecitos Elementary School, 5211 5th St., Rainbow.

Registration opens three days prior to the testing date, according to FRHD. Appointments, which the health district said are “advised, not required,” can be made by calling 211 or online at COVIDtest.SanDiegoCounty.gov.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].