Sonoma County health officials believe a localized version of COVID-19 vaccine tourism, called "county hopping," has become a real problem.
Rohnert Park Mayor Gerard Guidice visited the large new clinic in his city on its opening day and saw a long line of people.
"People were so enthusiastic and they came from all over," he told KCBS Radio. "Some were Rohnert park residents. Some were from the town of Sonoma."
The hope is, however, that they weren’t from outside the county.
But with confusion over booking online appointments, Dr. Urmila Shende, COVID-19 vaccine chief for Sonoma County, said they know county hopping is going on.
"So, because of that, vaccines can sometimes go to those who know how to use the system or have time or connections to go online and find sites, rather than to those in the county who took the appropriate care and those who need the vaccines the most," she said.
The county had not intended to ask for IDs for those coming to get a vaccine, but that has changed, Shende added.
The current invite-only system is helping, but she said the county is very aware that it may need to do some double-checking to make sure that no one is crossing county lines to get their shot.
Related
