Auto Club Speedway Super Site Vaccinating 3,500 Residents Today
All 3,500 appointments for today’s super site vaccination event were filled in less than 20 minutes, demonstrating that there is considerable demand for the vaccine, although doses remain in short supply.
Once inside the speedway property, those with appointments were serviced quickly. A long line developed heading into the speedway, but County officials worked with the California Highway Patrol to move the traffic into vacant lots within the speedway to alleviate the line. The County will keep the site open for as long as it takes to serve everyone who arrives with an appointment.
“While we are unable to accommodate everyone who would like to be vaccinated, establishing this large, centrally-located site represents an important milestone in our battle against the coronavirus,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “As soon as the state provides us with more doses, we can activate this super site again, and open additional vaccination sites throughout the county, including mobile vaccination teams.”
The County will conduct more super-site events and stand up additional neighborhood vaccination clinics when supplies from the State become larger and more reliable. A list of all vaccine providers, along with links for setting an online appointment, can be found at https://sbcovid19.com/vaccine/locations/. Individuals having trouble with online registration can call the county’s information hotline at 909-387-3911 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Residents receiving an initial dose at Tuesday’s Auto Club Speedway event were able to immediately schedule an appointment to receive their second dose at a follow-up speedway event on March 2.
Demand for Vaccine Exceeds Available Supply of Doses
Since the State opened COVID-19 vaccines to persons aged 65 and over on Jan. 13, San Bernardino County residents have scrambled for every available appointment made available to receive their first dose. Unfortunately, the State continues to fall short in providing enough of the vaccine to meet the enormous demand.
The County has set up four public vaccination sites, including the newest location at the Ontario Convention Center, in addition to today’s “super site” event at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. It took less than 20 minutes for all 3,500 appointments at the speedway event to be filled.
“Vaccination centers are in place and we have the staff needed to administer the vaccines,” Hagman said. “Now our challenge is to obtain enough doses from the State to inoculate every resident who is authorized to receive them.”
The County is hoping this week’s announcement by the White House on a 16% increase in vaccine supply flowing to states every week for the next three weeks to a minimum of 10 million doses per week will help increase local supplies and the number of appointments available to county residents.
“We are pleased that county residents are responding so enthusiastically when given an opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Hagman. “We are doing everything we can to meet this extraordinary demand.”
Hagman suggested that residents aged 65 and older, along with frontline health workers and others listed in Phase 1A of the vaccine distribution schedule, sign up to be notified when appointments become available. He also recommended visiting the County’s vaccination appointment page on a regular basis to check current status.
Individuals having trouble with online registration can call the County’s information hotline at 909-387-3911 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. Following are the four County Public Health sites currently set up to administer vaccines:
San Bernardino Health Center
606 E. Mill St., San Bernardino, CA 92415
Ontario Health Center
150 E. Holt Blvd., Ontario, CA 91761
Ontario Convention Center
2000 E Convention Center Way, Ontario, CA 91764
Hesperia Health Center
16453 Bear Valley Rd., Hesperia, CA 92345
On Tuesday, the State of California opened an OptumServe vaccine clinic at Ayala Park Community Center, 18313 Valley Blvd. in Bloomington that will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Both first and second dose appointments will be scheduled at the same time. OptumServe has a Helpline for people who need assistance making an appointment 1-877-218-0381 and the call center is open from Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
County Offering ‘Second Dose’ Vaccination Sites This Week
Individuals who receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine now also receive an appointment time for their second dose. There are those who received the first dose in December and January, however, who may not have been given an appointment time.
To assist these early vaccine recipients, the County has established four facilities who will be administering second doses this week, and has opened up a registration page for booking a second dose appointment at any of these facilities. They are located at Arroyo Valley High School in San Bernardino, the Ontario Health Center, the Hesperia Health Center and the San Bernardino Health Center.
People who received a first dose at one of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center’s health clinics will receive an email with a second-dose appointment link before their vaccine is due.
The current vaccination method consists of two doses. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine asks for a second dose 21 days after the first; the Moderna vaccine 28 days after.
Persons should not be scheduled to receive the second dose earlier than recommended; however, second doses administered within a grace period of 4 days earlier than the recommended date for the second dose are still considered valid. Doses inadvertently administered earlier than the grace period should not be repeated.
While the second dose should be administered as close to the recommended interval as possible, the drug makers and the FDA have determined there is a “grace period” for second doses that do not affect the drug’s efficacy.
Specifically, if it is not feasible for someone to adhere to the recommended interval, the second dose of either COVID-19 vaccine may be scheduled for administration up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose. There are currently limited data on efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines administered beyond this window. For more information, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/clinical-considerations.html#Administration
Public Health Officials Urge Caution this Super Bowl Weekend
While many recognize Super Bowl Sunday as a veritable national holiday, San Bernardino County health officials are urging residents to avoid behaviors that could lead to another spike in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
“We are just beginning to recover from a major spike that we largely attribute to recent holiday gatherings, so we’re asking people to take steps to avoid further spread of the virus,” said Public Health Director Corwin Porter. “It‘s really not that hard to enjoy the game safely.”
Porter is echoing advice from the Centers for Disease Control, which notes that the safest way to celebrate the Super Bowl is to gather virtually or only with the people in your own household.
Safe options include outdoor gatherings where guests can view the game on a big screen while staying 6 feet apart, or a virtual watch party, which might include creating a text group so you can comment on the game in real time.
“We understand that these options are not ideal, and that people would much prefer enjoying the big game in their usual fashion,” Hagman said. “But these are not usual times, and the pandemic is still raging. So please, do what you can to protect your friends and neighbors and help us get through this difficult period. The more cautious everyone is, the sooner we can get back to normal.”
Latest Stats
275,076 Confirmed Cases (up 0.2% from the previous day)
1,856 Deaths (up 0.9% from the previous day)
2,225,478 Tests (up 0.3% from the previous day)
For more statistics from the COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, click the desktop or mobile tab on the County’s sbcovid19.com website.
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