It's an audacious, unprecedented task: Inoculate some 40 million Californians in a matter of months with a coronavirus vaccine.
California is on the cusp of a mass campaign that faces colossal complexities, even beyond the nuts-and-bolts logistics of having enough cold storage for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines once they finally arrive. Will local health departments — expected to shoulder the lion's share of the work — have enough cash to pull off such a daunting task?
Some wonder if data systems are up to the task of tracking multiple injections for so many people and capable of notifying them when it's time to return for the second shot, ensuring they don't get Moderna's second shot if their first was Pfizer, and vice versa.
And who, among priority populations, will get the first vaccines? How will the state identify communities with the highest need and ensure they have access? And what about cost?
“To date, only $200 million has been distributed to state, territorial and local jurisdictions for vaccine preparedness, though it is estimated that at least $6-8 billion is needed,” said the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, which examined 47 state vaccine rollout plans.
California's cut of the federal money was $28.7 million, or about 71 cents per resident.
The California Department of Public Health said it stands ready to assist county and city health departments “should any gaps in funding occur or should there be a need for unforeseen large acquisitions.” It's using the federal money to recruit and enroll vaccine providers; buy software to register, order and allocate vaccines; fund positions for data analysis and tracking, public outreach and computer programming; support a statewide media campaign; and, eventually, fund contracts for registered nurses and/or licensed vocational nurses to help staff vaccination events throughout California.
The effort, however, has become politicized, and some fear that safety might be sacrificed on the altar of speed. To ease such concerns, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed a panel of experts to a COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup in October. They're charged with independently examining the safety and efficacy data of any vaccine that receives FDA approval, and must give their blessing before California will distribute those vaccines to its citizenry.
Some experts argue that this extra step is unnecessary, and that California and other states with review panels should stand down.
Arthur L. Reingold, chair of California's safety review panel and head of epidemiology and biostatistics at UC Berkeley, believes that wary Californians deserve the peace of mind that extra scrutiny will bring.
Reingold’s panel will get data soon after it’s presented to the FDA, review it quickly and make its recommendation in short order — “in a matter of a few days, not weeks,” he said. “We’re quite confident that we will not impose additional delays on who gets the vaccine in California.”
State and local health departments say they've already started enlisting the help of trusted community leaders who can help get out the facts about vaccines — once they are approved. Public communication campaigns are in the works, they said.
Experts say they’re confident that California’s data systems are up to the task at hand. The state is working on “a robust data system to track local inventories and doses administered,” and it already has a “confidential and secure” immunization information system.
Data on administered doses will ultimately reside in the California Immunization Registry, which supports “real-time immunization record query messages” and can return immunization histories, according to the Department of Public Health, which won an award for the technology.
Health providers and the state will be able to keep track of who has received which shots when, and of informing people when it’s time for a second shot, which is required for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The systems should also be adept at ensuring that people don’t get a Moderna injection if their first one was a Pfizer, and vice versa, officials and experts said. People can expect reminders by text message and email when it’s time for their second shots.
(c)2020 The Orange County Register. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
