Central Coast dental professionals gearing up to administer COVID vaccines
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Dentists across the state will soon get a chance to give out COVID-19 vaccine shots after new state waivers allowed them to join along with the efforts. But there are some steps they need to take before doing so.
According to the California Dental Association, dentists will have to take several hours of immunization training before being able to give out shots, comply with federal and state record keeping and reporting requirements and adhere to FDA vaccine administration requirements.
KION Reporter Josh Kristianto's dad is a Salinas dentist, and he believes dental professionals are in a unique position to help out the community during what has been a slower than expected vaccine rollout.
Long before COVID-19, Dr. Jonathan Kristianto dealt with another public health emergency: an HIV outbreak in the early 1980s.
"We have to wear double cover, full cover gown and double gloves," said Dr. Kristianto.
Nowadays, it feels pretty similar to what is happening on the Central Coast and around the world. Reopening the dental office came with a strict set of COVID-19 guidelines: patients have to wait in the car until called in for the appointment, get their temperatures checked and fill out a questionnaire.
But now more than before, more and more patients are calling in sick.
"We have seen that a lot of patients have been cancelling their appointments because they've been exposed to a positive person or they have symptoms of COVID," said Tina Kristianto, who manages at the dental office.
The advent of vaccinations is bringing some hope. But the CDA says the state has only administered 28 percent of the vaccine doses it has received, in part due to a lack of people able to give out shots.
There are thousands of dentists in California, and even if a portion of them volunteer, it could have a huge impact on the vaccination efforts.
"There is 36,000 dentists in California. So if one dentist can give 100 people, that counts to 3.6 million people can be reached," said Dr. Kristianto.
There are still a lot of questions about what exactly this could look like. The CDA say "dentists will be able to help with surge capacity once vaccination sites are set up or at clinics."
Dentists would not initially administer vaccines in their dental office because of the storage requirements for these highly sensitive doses. It is likely vaccinations by dentists would occur at hospitals, clinics or vaccination sites for now.
The CDA is also pushing for dentists to get vaccinated earlier in priority because of direct patient contact especially if they are giving out vaccines.
Regional dental societies are still working out logistics with their respective counties to see how quickly this plan can roll out.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE: Per state authorization, dental professional across the Central Coast will soon be able to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to residents.
This comes as vaccinations in the state and across the country failed to meet end of the year goals set by Operation Warp Speed administrators.
KION's Josh Kristianto will have more from the Monterey Bay Dental Society about how soon vaccinations could be given by dentists and how many are willing to volunteer tonight at 5 and 6 p.m.
