Health district holds first vaccine event

Fallbrook Regional Health District held its first vaccination clinic Friday, March 12, inoculating more than 200 people in a partnership with Cal Fire.

The clinic was held throughout the day on Friday at Palomar College's Fallbrook Education Center on Horse Ranch Creek Road.

The health district first announced the event in an email at about 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 10. Health district CEO Rachel Mason said the district is continuing to work to schedule additional vaccine events, but she does not yet have any indication on when those will be – she did not even receive word on the vaccines being allocated for this first clinic event until Tuesday, she said.

"It is such a challenge getting more than a few days' notice," Mason told Village News. "There's such limited supply from the state to the county to the (vaccination) partners."

Mason said Cal Fire, which is tasked with organizing testing and vaccine rollout in rural areas of San Diego County, let the health district know late Tuesday that Johnson & Johnson doses had been earmarked for the Fallbrook area, prompting a scramble to ensure Palomar College's Fallbrook campus could be used as a vaccination site.

Mason had been told just last week that it could be up to two weeks before enough vaccine supply was available for local vaccination events to take place in Fallbrook – which she said in an email announcement on March 5. She said the sudden notice of available vaccine supply may have been due to help from Supervisor Jim Desmond's office and Cal Fire.

"I'm not entirely sure how we finally got the County to get us prioritized, but I'm sure the voice of Desmond's office didn't hurt," Mason said in an email. "I've been bugging our Cal Fire contact, Desmond's office and pretty much anyone who would listen."

A total of 285 people were vaccinated at the Fallbrook clinic on Friday – short of the more than 400 appointments that were available.

Mason said she knew there were "a bunch of no-shows" for the clinic, and that Cal Fire also had to cancel appointments for some people who were not eligible to receive vaccine doses yet.

"It is extremely important that people confirm their eligibility before they grab an appointment slot," Mason said in an email. "The scheduling software doesn't weed everyone out because there may be extenuating situations that allowed those individuals to be eligible."

The vaccinations administered at the Friday clinic event were the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine – among the first to be distributed in San Diego County.

In announcing the arrival of the first Johnson & Johnson doses in the county on Tuesday, March 9, county health officials assured the public that while research trials showed that vaccine to be about 72% effective, compared to upwards of 90% effectiveness for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains just as effective at preventing serious illness from COVID-19.

All currently available vaccines were 100% effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths during trials, county health officials said.

"San Diegans should get whichever vaccine is available when it's their turn to get vaccinated," San Diego County Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten said. "All three vaccines are excellent at preventing people from getting seriously ill from COVID-19."

With vaccine supplies still short, Mason said the health district was still directing local residents who were not able to get a vaccination appointment at the Friday event or through the county to try seeking vaccines through Tri-City Medical Center, Rite Aid or Palomar Health.

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 opened up a vaccination clinic in downtown Escondido, which will be open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with appointments required. 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.

Apart from vaccinations, FRHD has 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.