The biggest storm of the season has prompted a halt to San Francisco’s mass vaccination clinic at City College through Thursday.
COVID-19 testing schedules may also be affected by the weather. Santa Clara County, however, will continue its mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the county fairgrounds, with some modifications.
One Bay Area woman told KCBS Radio about a troubling experience that her elderly grandmother had while getting her vaccination on Monday. Emily said her non-English speaking grandmother had a difficult time navigating a website to make an appointment.
"My grandmother is 80 years old," she said. "Navigating the system to register in the first place was difficult since she’s not an English speaker, but she got an appointment for 10:30 a.m."
It only got worse from there.
When she arrived at the fairgrounds, more than 100 people were ahead of her in a wind-whipped, three-hour line with few chairs available.
"They were out in the cold for hours, no chairs, no wind barricades. Nothing," she explained. "She was afraid the people next to her were going to get her sick because they were standing closer than six feet. She said folks were looking very tired and weak and maybe about to collapse."
Luckily, Emily said her grandmother had a thick jacket in tow, though several people didn’t. Now, Emily’s grandmother is afraid to return for her second vaccination.
"It seems like (her) chances of getting sick are even higher because it’s cold. It’s all these people. Everyone’s old. No one’s social distancing."
A Santa Clara County spokesman told KCBS Radio a report of such chaos is surprising, and that they are continually improving the distribution processes, adding the clinics usually run more swiftly and smoothly.
The county is looking for more indoor space at the fairgrounds to vaccinate seniors with a major storm on the way.
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