Parents Struggle to Find COVID Vaccines for Young Children in Humboldt County

Stock photo of COVID Vaccine from CanStockPhoto

A review of local COVID-19 vaccine availability has revealed significant barriers for families seeking immunizations for young children. In Humboldt County, where access to healthcare is already challenging, the patchwork of hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies often has parents struggling to find pediatric COVID-19 vaccines.

As reported by the New York Times in late September, “Covid is also particularly dangerous for newborns. Maternal antibodies are the only way to protect them, as they cannot be vaccinated against the virus until they are six months old. From October 2022 to April 2024, infants under 6 months were more likely to be hospitalized from Covid infections than any other age group apart from adults 75 and older.”

A CDPH graph reflecting infant deaths attributed to COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV shows that so far in the Rural North, a region including Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake,​ Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity counties, there have been two COVID-19 deaths this season.

The query into availability of vaccines for local kids began with a passionate email from a local mother, whose personal struggle epitomizes the broader systemic challenges. “Yesterday, I took my 15-month-old daughter to her pediatrician for her vaccines, including the COVID vaccine, and I was told they don’t have it and won’t be getting it this year,” she wrote. 

She explained that, “even though the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend it for all children six months and older,” she was unable to find the pediatric dose, or sufficient answers, locally.  While this mom’s experience may not represent all scenarios locally where a parent sought and was unable to locate the vaccine for a young child, after checking around town for available vaccines, it became clear that her experience was likely shared by other parents in the months leading up to the Fall cold and flu season. 

“I tried calling around,” she wrote in a September email to Redheaded Blackbelt asking for clarification, explaining that Public Health had referred her to Open Door, “but Open Door said they also don’t have the infant vaccine,” she said. Determined to get her baby covered by the vaccine before the onset of the winter flu season, she explained, “When I spoke with Public Health again, they even mentioned that some families are going all the way to Santa Rosa. Having to drive three hours for routine, preventative medical care is unacceptable.”

Some families face challenges like needing to travel distances up to three hours for vaccination out of the county in order to get the protection a vaccine offers. One local mother highlighted this issue, describing her frustration with having to potentially drive to Santa Rosa – a three-hour round trip to secure a COVID-19 vaccine for her 18-month-old daughter – because she couldn’t find it locally in September.

With vaccine availability already being a challenge on the rural North Coast, insurance and patient status barriers create an even more complex vaccination landscape, where access is not just about vaccine availability, but also about navigating intricate healthcare system requirements. 

We found that between various pediatric offices and local hospitals, roughly 25% of local providers and pharmacies we contacted offer pediatric COVID vaccines, and none were ready to vaccinate at the youngest age range of 6 months to 3 years. And, when a provider or pharmacy does have the COVID-19 pediatric doses on deck – being able to get those shots may be dependent on having the preferred insurance coverage, such as private insurance plans, and in some cases, further dependent on being an existing patient of the clinic or doctor’s office to begin with.

A family’s ability to get the vaccine may depend on a few factors, including patient status, type of insurance, and ability to travel. One mother’s struggle to find a vaccine in Humboldt reflects what many families face in rural areas, where distance and a scattered healthcare system can turn routine care into a challenge. 

In Eureka, Providence St. Joseph Hospital (SJH) confirmed that early in October, the hospital group did not have pediatric doses, and was referring patients to pharmacies for their doses.  Recently, SJH has since notified us that “We have received the vaccine for our pediatrics department.” SJH explained that for the “last two respiratory seasons”, their practice has been to advise patients seeking vaccination to visit local pharmacies – a common backup practice locally. However, pharmacies do not generally vaccinate kids under 3 years old, and many do not accommodate kids under 12 years old. 

For pediatric vaccine doses, Walgreens confirms that its pharmacy does offer the COVID-19 vaccine only for children 3 years and older, Green’s Pharmacy in Fortuna limits vaccines to 12 years and up, while Redwood Pediatric Medical Group provides limited access for existing patients only. Additionally, the My Turn website can help determine where vaccines are being offered. For example, locals wanting the pediatric vaccine have been advised to turn to Walgreens Pharmacy for vaccinations in a pinch, but often, Pharmacies like Walgreens opt not to vaccinate children under 3 years old, and others advise that they only vaccine older kids, leaving parents of toddlers with very limited options locally.

Redwood Pediatrics confirmed similar restrictions to that of Open Door, noting they only provide vaccines to existing patients and have recently received shipments for children 6 months to 4 years old. Specifically, a staff member at the pediatrics department of Open Door Community Health Center explained that vaccine availability is currently limited to private insurance holders, and current patients. Noting that shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine doses allotted for Medi-Cal and Partnership Health Plan patients were expected to arrive soon, at the time of our inquiry mid October, Open Door Pediatrics also confirmed, as did Redwood Pediatrics, that their office had experienced a delay in receiving the supply. With the schedule of supply being somewhat unpredictable, the staff person advised that patients should “keep giving us a call and seeing if we have it,” adding that “today we might not have it, but next week we could.”

In the southern part of the county, the need for vaccine supplies was felt as families inquired about where and when they could get “the jab” – despite endorsement of the vaccine’s efficacy by the West Coast Health Alliance and by State agencies like DHHS – the vaccine proved difficult to obtain, without any clear explanation from the source or the powers that be. Chelsea Brown, Outreach Manager at  SoHum Health told us in early October that, “[O]n September 19th the CDC abandoned its official recommendation that all adults receive an annual COVID-19 vaccine,” adding that the “last-minute decision” had “caused confusion and delays in ordering processes and billing for vaccines for the 2025 season.” Brown said, “The newly formed West Coast Health Alliance, the State of California, and the County of Humboldt all continue to recommend annual COVID-19 vaccines for all persons 6 months of age and older.” For the most up to date information from SoHum Health, Brown advised that community members could follow their Facebook page @SoHum Health “to receive updates regarding availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.”  

Getting ahead of the flu season rush, West Coast governors had banded together to create an alternative source for reliable, science-based health information in the absence of reliable national outreach, data collection and distribution, and public guidance for public health awareness. A Joint statement from Governors Newsom, Kotek, and Ferguson was issued September 3, as the new West Coast Health Alliance was launched. “President Trump’s mass firing of CDC doctors and scientists — and his blatant politicization of the agency — is a direct assault on the health and safety of the American people,” said the joint statement, adding, “The CDC has become a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science, ideology that will lead to severe health consequences. California, Oregon, and Washington will not allow the people of our states to be put at risk.”

Further complicating the COVID-19 vaccine protocol are recent changes at the CDC, which has also removed the page detailing a vaccine schedule for youth, now issuing recommendations via a new policy ”Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States”, rather than the previously relied upon guidance advising in favor of vaccination against the novel coronavirus responsible for the years-long pandemic.  

Our quest for vaccine availability revealed a nuanced healthcare access challenge that extends beyond simple vaccine distribution, potentially reflecting broader, systemic pressures on the rural healthcare infrastructure of the North Coast. 

Responding to our request for information, local Health Officer Dr. Candy Stockton emphasized ongoing commitment, stating in an email responding to our request for information, that “local and state public health departments, medical providers, and state government are committed to ensuring children continue to have access to vaccine protection.” A follow-up email request to DHHS for updated information has not been returned at the time of publishing. 

“As a mom, I feel scared and angry,” the mother who wrote to us seeking vaccination said after deciding to drive to Santa Rosa. “Our babies are left unprotected, and families are getting no clear answers.”

Humboldt County Public Health says it continues to monitor local vaccine supplies and urges families to contact their healthcare providers for updates on availability.