Yesterday I received my second shot of the Moderna vaccine. It was administered by health care workers at Clinica de la Raza, a community health care center formed in 1971 with a goal of serving low-income residents in the Fruitvale district of Oakland.
I live ten minutes from the Fruitvale, even so, was able to schedule an appointment. A person called me within a day to confirm all details and sent a message on my cellphone. In these days of online and Internet links going nowhere, I found this truly remarkable, a relief after hearing for months about deaths throughout the country and the growth of variants.
I found this equally remarkable because I belong to Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest “nonprofit” healthcare plans in the United States with over 12 million members. According to their own statistics, there are 8 million members in California. Kaiser was formed in 1945 to provide health care coverage to shipyard workers who flocked to Richmond, California at the onset of World War II. It’s where “Rosie the Riveter” came from.
But throughout the pandemic, I have heard little from Kaiser. No phone calls, no links, no information. I did receive one letter whose message was to hang in there. So what did I expect if vaccines weren’t available? Communication. A sense that my health care provider was looking out for me and keeping me informed. I’d contacted my doctor who said that Kaiser in California had only been allocated 5% of the vaccine, and to my point, why the lack of communication? I feel that Kaiser has abrogated their responsibility as one of the supposedly premium health care programs in the United States that emphasizes preventive medicine. They are not coordinating the vaccination effort in the East Bay, a task that has fallen to Blue Shield.
In the meantime, gracias to La Clinica, and a loud boo to Kaiser.
Looking out my patio window
a spider plant with a carousel of babies
that dance around its middle.
I also have Kaiser and got on line for my shots slick as could be. I’ve heard that some others have also had problems with Kaiser. I’m sorry you did. I had some slight soreness with the first shot but nothing with the second.
Grant: glad you had a good experience. My point is Kaiser neglected to stay in touch with members about what was going on and I think they failed in that regard. Communication. I think perhaps people who had various conditions were prioritized, as they needed to be.
I agree. I bugged my family doc and bingo, I had an appointment. I’m glad you got yours
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