Fresno County officials struggling to find people who want a COVID-19 vaccine dose
Experts think supply of the vaccine is bumping up against hesitancy.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Just weeks ago, finding an open appointment to get a COVID shot was hard.
People from across the state flooded into the Central Valley looking to get one.
But now, Fresno County health officials say they are struggling to find patients who want a dose.
Fresno County has administered vaccines to over 600,000 people.
Public health officials say they had been giving as many as 6,000 shots per day, but that number has been falling.
Experts think supply is bumping up against hesitancy.
Some people still don't trust the vaccine.
Dr. Dee Lacey with Kaiser Permanente in Fresno says there are others who caught COVID who have opted to not get the vaccine now, because they believe they'd be protected for several months.
Health officials say the recent pause on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine could also be to blame for some of the hesitancy.
Experts stress that there have only been 15 cases of people having blood clots after getting the J&J vaccine out of nearly 8 million shots given.
That means you're far more likely to die from complications from COVID.
Dr. Lacey worries about another wave of infections if people don't get a dose.
"With the wave in Europe and India, these variants are bad and could be worse than what we've been through," Dr. Lacey says.
Fresno County public health officials are looking at how they're conducting vaccine clinics, adding events, and mobilizing more resources as they race against the clock to get more protected before the state fully reopens.
"It's going to require innovation up to June 15th and after June 15th to make this work," Fresno County Public Health's Dr. Rais Vohra said.
The county is slated to receive 6,000 doses next week, and health officials say the challenge will be dealing with that low demand as well as getting vaccines that are set to expire into the arms of patients.
Anyone in Fresno County wanting to get registered or get someone registered to get a vaccine can call 1-888-559-2683 for help with the MyTurn system.
