This will be the third time the site will close temporarily due to supply shortage. NBC 7’s Lauren Coronado explains why.
For the third time in March, the Del Mar vaccination superstation will pause operations because of low vaccine supply, a San Diego County spokesperson confirmed Monday.
The temporary closure -- March 31, April 3 and April 4 -- was announced the same day President Joe Biden set an April 19 target for expanding vaccine eligibility to 90% of U.S. adults.
“I’m absolutely interested in getting the vaccine as soon as I could,” said Adam Ellison, of Cardiff.
“I’m going to sign up. I’m definitely going to sign up,” said Chris Hanlon, of Encinitas.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
While Hanlon and Ellison aren’t eligible for the vaccine yet, in the next few weeks they will be. Whether or not the county will have a dose on hand to put in their arms is another story.
“We are the lucky ones, I guess,” said Sara Ahwazi, of Mission Valley. She said she and her family received their second doses of the vaccine at the Del Mar site earlier this month, before the site announced their most recent closure.
Local
The Del Mar superstation is run by Scripps Health which, according to a county spokesperson, has only received about a third of the doses it's requested.
Vaccine distribution throughout the county depends on several criteria, according to the county. First and foremost, it depends on equity factors associated with the ZIP code a site serves.
“I think people are being a little selfish when they get indigent that people in other zip codes are getting a larger share than, let’s say, Del Mar is. I think it’s helping us all in the big picture,” said Hanlon.
The county is hoping and expecting supply to be more readily available over the next few weeks.
According to Scripps Health, patients whose appointments were scheduled at the Del Mar superstation on Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday should be rescheduled automatically through the state's MyTurn appointment system.
