Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse
The Covid-19 vaccine rollout is in full swing, albeit a slow one. As of January 13, 2021, 10.8 million doses had been administered in the United States, which translates to about 3 per 100 people. There are a few states, notably West Virginia and South Dakota, whose distribution to their small populations has led to much higher percentages, on the order of 6%, or 6 doses per 100 residents. But many states are closer to the 2% range. This is not even close to the herd we need to develop community-wide immunity. Many states, including California, have initiated stadium-sized vaccine distribution sites in order to accommodate thousands of vaccine recipients per day. And one of those sites is the “Happiest place on earth,” or Disneyland. Located in Anaheim, Orange County, in Southern California, Disneyland Resort will serve as one of the first “super point-of-dispensing” (Super POD) sites.
People arrive at a Disneyland parking lot to receive Covid-19 vaccines on the opening day of the ... [+]
Not surprisingly, early efforts to engage massive numbers of people (up to 10,000 per day) led to technical glitches on the link to schedule, leaving many people frustrated and without appointments. The site, Othena, enables Orange County residents to register for a vaccine appointment, but with tens of thousands hitting this site in a matter of hours, getting locked out and system crashes led to many unhappy un-immunized residents. As Disneyland is the first of many Super PODS in early planning, snafus such as this are not surprising. Currently all Orange County residents ages 65 years and older are eligible to register to receive a Covid-19 vaccination. Other Super POD sites expected to open for widespread vaccination include Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Cal Expo in Sacramento, and PetCo Stadium in San Diego.
California has, for the past several weeks, been this country’s epicenter of new Covid-19 cases, new hospitalizations, and daily deaths. In addition, many counties report a 0% ICU bed capacity, and some hospitals have resorted to treating patients in tents, hallways, and even the hospital gift shop. At the same time, California ranks as one of the lowest in per capita vaccinations. Recent expansion of vaccine candidacy from healthcare workers to all residents in the state ages 65 years and older will hopefully lead to some improved numbers in both reduction in cases and increase in those receiving vaccinations. However, it will be many weeks or even months before the daily rise in immunized people makes a dent in the daily rise in new Covid-19 cases. Several of the Super POD vaccine administration sites, including Dodger Stadium, have been used as Covid-19 testing sites. The change-over will take time, and those receiving the vaccine will need to monitored for at least 15 minutes after vaccination to ensure no immediate side effects.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 04: The Dodger Stadium COVID-19 testing site, which is the largest in ... [+]
As of this week, California had received 2.5 million doses of both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and had administered under 900,000 doses. This includes thousands of healthcare workers who have already received two doses, as vaccine administration to healthcare workers began the week of December 15, 2020. While the relatively low number of administered vaccines can, in part, be blamed on technical sign-up glitches, delay in appointment availability, and inadequate dose distribution, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey reported that up to 29% of healthcare workers were hesitant to get the vaccine. Concerns are similar to those seen in the general population— the vaccine approval process was too fast (even though no development steps were skipped or curtailed), the side effects are not fully known (even though side effects of tens of thousands were assessed during the studies), as well as a general distrust of government agencies. Even misinformation spun on social media sites regarding DNA manipulation, infertility issues, and microchip tagging has been raised by healthcare workers.
Covid-19 Vaccination.
Some continue to consider the option of herd immunity from natural infections to be better and safer than a vaccine. This is not an option for several reasons: immunity following an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection lasts on the order of one to three months, not one to three years as is the case for vaccines; the morbidity and mortality from the acute illness has lead to nearly half a million deaths in the U.S. alone, and this will continue to increase if the infectious spread is not tempered; and we are already seeing long-term sequelae due to acute infections, which are likely going to plague our population for years ahead.
While it is highly unlikely that even a VIP Annual Pass will mean that Mickey Mouse himself will be giving you your vaccine, nor that you’ll be able to pitch one to Will Smith right before your jab, the likelihood of getting that shot is getting better each day. And when it’s your turn, get it. It’s our only ticket out of this.
