Plumas County pivots to state COVID vaccination system – what you need to do
By Debra Moore
As of this afternoon, March 8, Plumas County is transitioning to the state’s MyTurn system for COVID-19 vaccination appointments. This means that any Plumas County resident who has not received their first dose or who is not scheduled to receive their first dose this week — must sign up on the state’s website to be contacted for a vaccine opportunity.
Repeat: If you haven’t received your first dose and if you are not scheduled to receive one this week, then you must go to myturn.ca.gov to be alerted as to when it’s your turn to receive a vaccine. Those without internet access may call 1-833-422-4255.
Those who have received a first dose, should have been given a card with their second appointment already scheduled. Those second doses will be handled independently of the MyTurn system.
Lori Beatley, spokesperson for the Plumas County Public Health Agency, shared the information today. Beatley said the health agency knew that the transition would be required, but it happened sooner than expected. As of this afternoon, the county portal will no longer be active. All vaccines will be scheduled through MyTurn. (More details about the MyTurn registration process below).
The information from the county portal will not be transferred to the state site; that must be done by the individuals.
While the public is registering its information online to be alerted to schedule a vaccination appointment, the Public Health Agency will also be using the MyTurn website to upload its scheduled vaccine clinic information. The state will marry the county’s vaccine availability with the eligibility of those registered on MyTurn and then notify individuals (via email or smartphone) when they can arrange an appointment through MyTurn.
Beatley acknowledges that this is challenging for some Plumas County residents who don’t have internet access, and Public Health was hoping to work its way through all of the 65-plus age group before the transition to the state system. But, with more than a quarter of the county’s population in that age group – it’s been a challenge. She estimates that Public Health is about 70 percent through that age group.
This week Public Health is scheduled to administer 600 second doses, as well as 300 first doses. Since the county received 300 Johnson & Johnson vaccines — those who receive that vaccine will not need a second dose.
While the new system will take the onus off of Public Health to maintain the portal and call hundreds of people each week to schedule appointments, the transition brings with it different logistical challenges.
For example, since MyTurn is web-based, vaccination clinics must be established where there is a strong Internet connection. When a person checks in to be vaccinated, that information is immediately logged into the MyTurn system by vaccine site staff.
Beatley said the county plans to perform a small pilot clinic to test out the process. She estimates that the first large-scale vaccine clinic under the new system won’t be held until March 20 to give local residents time to log into the My Turn system. “We don’t want to take too long of a transition period,” Beatley said.
The county is also looking for opportunities to offer drive-thru clinics, but the 15-minute mandatory observation period, makes it difficult. “We need to find areas that provide enough parking,” she said (so that individuals can be monitored in their vehicles), and the sites also need to have good Internet capability.
The process
Go to myturn.ca.gov to register. To try out the system, I logged on this afternoon. You will be asked a series of questions to see if you are currently eligible, including your age range, your business or industry, the county where you reside, and whether you have any underlying health conditions. If you meet the eligibility and there is an opportunity in your area, you will be prompted to provide more information and make an appointment.
If you are like me, and there isn’t an opportunity at this time based on your data, you will be asked if you want to register to be notified when there is an opportunity. At this point you will be asked for your name as well as some of the previous information, but with a little more detail.
Other opportunities
Public Health and the MyTurn system are reliant on the state allocations of vaccine, but local residents can avail themselves of other opportunities as well. The federal government is sending vaccine allocations directly to pharmacies and those doses are based on meeting eligibility requirements but not residency. Plumas residents could go to any other county, even Washoe in neighboring Nevada, to obtain a vaccine. Walgreens, CVS and RiteAid all offer vaccine opportunities – but you must register on their individual websites.
