Despite promises that all adults in California will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by April 15, chronic vaccine shortages still prevail in many counties, including Sonoma County. With more adults eligible for the vaccine, demand is expected to increase sharply and exacerbate the supply unless more shipments arrive soon.

According to state officials, all Californians aged 16 and over will be allowed to begin scheduling vaccine appointments midway through this month, as will members of 25 other states. This is weeks ahead of President Biden’s original plan, wherein Biden declared that all American adults would be eligible for vaccination by May 1.

Although widespread increased vaccine eligibility seems to be an auspicious sign, many are concerned that greater eligibility is meaningless when there is a definite shortage of doses available all over California.

“We greatly look forward to this expansion, but want to remind everyone that its success will be dependent on receiving a substantial increase in vaccine supplies,” said Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer for the Department of Public Health in Los Angeles County, in a local update.

Last month, vaccination clinics all over Sonoma County were forced to cancel appointments when they received less than one third of the vaccine doses they needed in order to fulfill each appointment. At this time, approximately 25% of residents 16 and over are fully vaccinated, meaning that three-quarters of the county remains vulnerable in some fashion to COVID-19.

According to the Press Democrat, Sonoma County is receiving disproportionately low vaccine shipments in comparison to similarly-sized counties in California. County officials released a plea for the state to send more vaccine shipments last week, citing that vaccine allocation by the state seems to have been mismanaged.

Sonoma County residents remain optimistic despite present concerns, however.

Tracey Eaton, interim director for the SSU Student Health Center, says that she hopes the state will prepare for increased demand, and that more students will be able to get vaccinated.

“We expect to have a limited supply of the COVID-19 vaccine in the county for at least the next few weeks. I am hopeful that supply will greatly increase after that so we are able to vaccinate all those who wish to be vaccinated,” Eaton said, “As the county opens up restrictions more, it is concerning that we are not yet able to vaccinate all those who desire vaccination. This is especially relevant for students, as most have not had the opportunity to be vaccinated yet.”

Eaton’s hope is shared by Dr. Laura Williams, SSU’s director of Counseling and Psychological Services, who also provided insight on how the stress of vaccine insecurity may be affecting Seawolves.

“Generally, the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult psychologically for many reasons, including the potential for increased isolation, limitations to activities and usual routes for coping like going to the gym, social events, and traveling, experiences of loss and grief, and fears about become infected or infecting others,” Williams said, “My guess would be that while the promise of the vaccine offers students hope, frustrations about securing the vaccine may cause additional stress. Hopefully though, this will be short-lived and students will be able to get vaccinated quickly. We’ll have to see how it all plays out.”

Dr. Courtney Avvampato, a clinician for CAPS at SSU, suggests that students feeling distressed by the vaccine shortages consider seeking help from CAPS and attending workshops like the upcoming “The Struggle Is Real, So How Do We Deal” workshop conducted by Dr. Irene Wise. More information is available on the CAPS website.

In the meantime, it seems that all Sonoma County can do is hope that more vaccine supplies arrive soon enough to prepare for April 15. For updates on this issue, visit https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/CAO/Press-Releases.