Sonoma County to close two key pandemic-era vaccine clinics by end of February

A large bowl of candy on a table at the Roseland vaccine clinic Thursday afternoon still contained plenty of red and white striped Christmas candy canes, along with stacks of information about influenza and COVID-19 vaccines.

The metal folding chairs where people once waited following their COVID-19 inoculations were empty, as was the children’s play area. Vaccine clinic staff, who sat around waiting for “walk-ins,” had vaccinated one person by 1 p.m. Thursday.

Throughout the clinic at 779 Sebastopol Road in west Santa Rosa are numerous pandemic-era reminders — the banners celebrating health care heroes, the angel-wing cutouts mounted on the wall where people, once vaccinated, took photos, and the numerous hand sanitizing stations.

The Roseland vaccine clinic, which along with a similar operation at the Rohnert Park Community Center, is scheduled to close at the end of the month, a move that coincides with the end of the state’s COVID-19 emergency declaration.

County public health officials say the shutdown is because of dwindling demand and the need to adapt the local response to a virus that has clearly gone from pandemic to endemic.

“This is primarily a decision made on the basis of fiscal prudence,” said Gabriel Kaplan, director of the county’s public health division. “It is a costly endeavor to operate that Roseland clinic … about $110,000 a month.”

Kaplan said the Rohnert Park vaccine clinic, which is operated by Optum Serve, is largely paid for by the state, though the county does cover the cost of supplies there. Kaplan said the number of people seeking inoculations at the two sites began declining “dramatically” after Jan. 1.

In the past week, an average of about three people a day sought vaccines at the Rohnert Park clinic, and about a dozen people a day were inoculated at the Roseland site. “It’s those kinds of numbers that really beg the question if those resources can't be spent better somewhere else,” Kaplan said.

But some health care advocates worry that the decision to close the clinics, especially the Roseland clinic, is too hasty and question whether county officials are adequately preparing for the fallout.

Under the county contract, Fox Home Health operated the clinic in Roseland and also provided testing services for COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Fox owner Cheryl Fox said that aside from the focus on the Roseland community, clinic staff members have also done vaccine outreach in homeless shelters and encampments, as well as in residential care facilities for the elderly and homebound residents.

Fox said she’s worried about how vulnerable groups will be affected by the closures. “I think that they forgot that there is a very vulnerable population that still needs to be monitored and served because it could put us in pretty dire straits,” she said.

She added that she was notified earlier this week that the county would be closing the Roseland clinic at the end of the month, despite being told as recently as last week that the clinic would remain open through May.

Since Oct. 1, 2022, Fox has provided more than 142 vaccines to homebound residents, some of them with cognitive issues, Fox said. Kim King, the Roseland clinic operations manager, said the clinic receives calls requesting vaccinations for homebound patients almost daily.

“My first thought was I felt bad for the people who are going to lose their job so quickly,” King said. “And my second thought was what's going to happen to these people? What’s the county's plan to serve them?”

Kaplan stressed that closing the Roseland clinic would free up public health staff and resources to focus on these populations. He said staff have all of February to work with local health care providers, including the county’s large network of community clinics, to come up with post-pandemic strategies that zero in on the county’s most vulnerable residents.

“What I challenged our COVID staff to do is to come up with a plan in the month of February for how we're going to spend our time in the months beyond that trying to help our partners be ready for the responsibility that is shifting to them,” Kaplan said.

One of those partners is Santa Rosa Community Health, the county’s largest consortium of health care centers. Gaby Bernal Leroi, CEO of the clinics, said in an email Thursday she understood more would be expected of her organization.

Bernal Leroi said Santa Rosa Community Health would continue to offer free vaccines, even after the state of emergency is ended.

“Of course, SRCH remains 100% committed to ensuring all our patients, people on Medi-Cal or Medicare, and people who are uninsured can get a vaccine at no charge,” she said.

Bernal Leroi said the Roseland vaccine clinic played “an instrumental role” in reducing disparities in vaccine access. “We were proud to partner with the County to open and operate it for almost a year,” she wrote. “Having a welcoming, culturally responsive, and convenient place to go made a lifesaving difference for our most-impacted neighbors in Roseland.”

News that the clinics would be closing came only days after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plans to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency on Feb. 28. The vaccine clinic at the Roseland Community Center is scheduled to close Feb. 25, and the Rohnert Park Community Center clinic will close Feb. 28.

Afterward, residents will have to get vaccines through their primary medical providers, most local pharmacies and community health clinics, county officials said.

Local health officials said the two clinics were key to the county being able to achieve its overall 80% vaccination rate. The Rohnert Park clinic delivered more than 23,400 doses, while the Roseland clinic administered 45,000 inoculations.

King, the Roseland clinic’s operations manager, confirmed that inoculations have been on the decline since the last surge in respiratory illness in the county. The clinic administered 1,068 COVID-19 shots in November; 727 in December; and 383 in January.

King said she understands the financial considerations given the decline in demand for the vaccine. But she said she hopes the county has a plan for continuing to serve those who could fall through the cracks once the clinic closes.

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine in Sonoma County, visit bit.ly/3YlqKg4.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.