COVID-19 booster shot appointments are becoming harder to secure during the Holiday season. The state's My Turn online COVID-19 vaccine scheduler is showing how some appointments are not available until after Christmas.
“First, I checked to see like what appointments were available and it seems that everything is kind of booked up for, you know, after the holidays,” said Luke DeLeon.
DeLeon said he drove from Chula Vista to El Cajon when he found San Diego County’s East Public Health Center’s vaccine site offering walk-ins for the booster shot.
“With the holidays coming up we're getting together as families, and it's just you never know, right?,” DeLeon said. “So, it’s just that extra layer defense.”
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Many on Friday morning were pleased to find the East County vaccine site quickly taking in patients, this as booster shot appointment availability is getting harder to come by.
“The process was a little tricky. We took a day off from work and it has not been very easy,” said Chris Sironden. “Most of the areas require an appointment and so today, taking a day off gives us a little bit of latitude to go around searching for good places.”
Sironden said he thought the process would be easier to get himself a booster shot and his son his first dose.
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San Diego County officials share how at this stage the county only administers just over 10% of the vaccinations now. Sharing how most are done at pharmacies and medical providers.
However, the county notes how there are walk-ins available at most places, but sometimes those lines are long, or like Friday morning in El Cajon, the timing is just right.
“I went to the one down the street off of Madison and they were all booked up and I was like, 'Okay,' well I looked at the next place and came down here,” said Bill Cosner of El Cajon. “There was nobody here, but the volunteers and it took me like all of 10 minutes to get in and get the shot.”
According to the county's latest data, 23% of San Diegans have received their booster shot.
For pharmacies such as CVS that are offering the vaccine, their website shows the earliest appointments in the San Diego area are not until next weekend.
