The City of Coronado, working with Sharp Coronado Hospital, will provide a vaccination site in Coronado beginning Wednesday, Jan. 13, to help the region more quickly move on to the next phase.
Sharp Coronado, the local hospital receiving and distributing the vaccine, and the city are now listed as a partner on the San Diego County website vaccination clinic location list. Coronado Firefighter/Paramedics have received training and, along with Sharp medical personnel, will administer the vaccines at the Coronado Community Center, 1845 Strand Way. Appointment registration is required. Hours will be 10 am to 7 pm weekdays, starting Jan. 13. The facility will be closed Jan. 18 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Site preparation is underway.
This phase of the vaccination effort is for healthcare workers and employees and residents of long-term care facilities only, based upon federal and sate guidance and recommendations from the County’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Advisory Group.
Interest in vaccinations is growing in Coronado. The city has been actively involved with the county from the beginning of the pandemic on best practices and procedures and enforcement of health orders, City Manager Blair King said. The city opened a COVID-19 testing site in Coronado, the only city in the region to have done so. King credits the city’s collaboration with the County and Sharp Coronado as the reason for rolling out the vaccination site in Coronado.
“Vaccination sites are intended to accommodate a lot of people,” King said. “Our combined goal is to accelerate this phase of the vaccine so we can move on to the next phase as quickly as possible. The city will make its facilities and staff from multiple departments available to expedite the operation at no cost.”
The City Council is expected to confirm its partnership with Sharp Coronado at its Jan. 19 meeting. City officials anticipate the partnership will continue as needed. To avoid impacting the city’s normal emergency response schedule, staff will work overtime. The site will be open five days a week initially but it is anticipated to ramp up to seven days a week.
Susan Stone, chief executive officer of Sharp Coronado Hospital, said her team is working to develop a safe and efficient process to vaccinate members of the community as soon as county, state and federal guidelines allow.
“We are committed to being part of the solution to provide greater vaccine access and are in dialogue now with the county and the city on how we can best move forward,” Stone said.
Populations identified in Phase 1A are eligible to be vaccinated. Phase IA includes the following tiers:
PHASE 1A-Tier 1
- Staff working in acute care, psychiatric, and correctional facility hospitals
- Staff and residents in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and similar settings for older or medically vulnerable individuals
- Paramedics, EMTs, and others providing emergency medical services
- Staff working in dialysis centers
- Staff working in behavioral health residential facilities
Phase 1A-Tier 2
- Healthcare personnel performing intermediate care, for persons who need non-continuous nursing supervision, and supportive care
- Healthcare personnel providing home health-care and in-home supportive services
- Community health workers, including “promotoras”
- Public Health field staff
- Staff working in primary care clinics, including Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Centers, correctional facility clinics, and urgent care clinics
- Staff working in behavioral health non-residential or outpatient facilities
Phase 1A-Tier 3
- Healthcare personnel in specialty clinics, lab workers, dental/oral health clinics, and pharmacy staff not working in settings at a higher group above
An estimated 500,000 people in the county are eligible in the three tiers of the Phase 1A vaccination distribution cycle. The county advises that those eligible should first contact their medical provider to receive the vaccine directly. If they are unable to receive the vaccine from their medical provider, appointments can be made online at various locations.
Appointment registration is required and space is limited. The clinic site can be found on the COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments page on the county’s website under site named Sharp Coronado Hospital/City of Coronado. Appointments are open to anyone who is eligible.
According to Senator Ben Hueso’s update on the vaccination plan, there are three tiers in Phase 1A, and counties are moving through these tiers at different speeds depending on local supply and demand.
Last Thursday, state officials announced new guidelines to local health departments, authorizing them to give shots to lower-priority groups if demand is low among people in higher-priority categories, or if doses are about to expire. Once agencies have completed efforts to offer the vaccine to everyone in Phase 1A, they can then move to Phase 1B, which has two tiers.
There is no estimated start date yet for Phase 1C but the hope is to offer everyone in this group their first shot by late spring.
Phase 2 is still being finalized and will likely change in the coming weeks or months. For more information about the recommendation process, visit the Community Vaccine Advisory Committee website. Public comments can be sent by email to COVID19vaccineoutreach@cdph.
For additional questions about vaccines and the state’s distribution plan, please reach out to the California Department of Public Health through their phone hotline at 1-833-422-4255 or via email at [email protected].
