Since the COVID-19 vaccine became available, I have not heard anything about the distribution schedule for Orange County. Through Reddit, I found an official site with some information.
However, like many government websites, it has a lot of text but not that much useful information. The question everyone is asking is when they will be eligible to get the vaccine, and basically we are told that they are still developing guidelines. Huh? The vaccine has been available for weeks. I know supply is scarce right now, but at least have a plan in place. What if a large quantity of vaccine suddenly becomes available? Are they going to sit on their hands or scramble and throw a crude plan together overnight? Ugh. So much incompetence in government.
Even the current schedule is confusing:
I am guessing that we are in Phase 1A for Tier 1 and Tier 2 population? The explanation says Phase 1A: Critical and Healthcare Workers. Critical what? Critical healthcare workers, critical workers in general, or just critical people? Then they go on to explain Tier 1 but the last bullet just says Dialysis centers. Again, what about dialysis centers? Does Tier 1 include only dialysis center workers or patients as well? The three previous bullets in the same section are very detailed, yet the last bullet has zero information. If dialysis patients are not in Tier 1, and dialysis centers is not mentioned in Tier 2 and Tier 3, then are we (patients) included in Phase 1B and 1C?
Digging deeper, bullet #2 says,
Skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and similar settings for older or medically vulnerable individuals and residents in these settings
So non-healthcare workers are include in Tier 1. This population makes sense since that is a very high-risk group and there has been many documented deaths. My point is that dialysis centers are fairly similar. The workers do come in contact with a lot of patients but only 3x when compared to dialysis patients (three shifts per day). Dialysis patients are usually pretty high risk since many have multiple medical complications. I haven’t heard of a virus breakout at a dialysis center yet, but patients are basically immobile for 3-4 hours, unable to remove themselves from unsafe situations or environments. If dialysis centers are considered high risk areas, then us patients also share that risk along with the workers.
In addition, there has not been any communication from my dialysis center staff on any information they may have that may be relevant. Like always, zero information when you need it next. I guess I just keep doing what I have been doing for the past 10 months and hope I get the vaccine call before I get sick and die.
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I found an academic article online that suggests dialysis patients, especially in-center patients, are at very high risk, with short-term mortality at 20%.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected the care and outcomes of patients treated with dialysis worldwide. In this issue of Kidney International, 3 reports highlight the disproportionately severe impact of COVID-19 on patients on dialysis, noting its high prevalence, particularly among patients receiving in-center dialysis. This likely reflects patients’ limited ability to physically distance as well as community exposures, including residence in areas with high rates of infection. Patients on dialysis are at extremely high risk should they develop COVID-19, with short-term mortality of 20% or higher. Accordingly, it is imperative that the kidney community intervenes to reduce the threat of COVID-19 in this vulnerable population by focusing on modifiable factors, including universal masking of patients and staff and enhanced screening, including testing for COVID-19 in the patients who are asymptomatic during times of high local prevalence.
https://www.kidney-international.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0085-2538%2820%2931203-5
Life with chronic diseases 