I live in Monterey County, where the Monterey County Health Officer, Dr. Edward Moreno, has had a lot of control over our daily lives since last March. Many of us were hoping that at least he would do his job and get Monterey County its pro rata share of the Covid-19 vaccines allocated to California.
No such luck.
Here’s what a local weekly publication, the Carmel Pine Cone, reported in an email on February 13:
On Thursday the Wall Street Journal, citing data from Feb. 9, reported that Alabama had the worst vaccination rate in the nation, with just 10,013 doses administered per 100,000 residents. But on the same date, Monterey County said only about 8,000 doses had been administered here per 100,000 county residents. Nationwide county-by-county vaccination data doesn’t seem to be publicly available, but if Monterey County is that far behind Alabama, the county’s vaccination rate has to be one of the worst in the country.
Many of us suspect that Dr. Moreno has not been aggressive in pushing our county’s case and getting more vaccines.
And in a front-page news story in the February 12 Pine Cone, we might have found out why. Here’s a paragraph from a story about the grilling that Monterey County supervisor Mary Adams got in a recent town hall:
As for Moreno, who is often under fire for his poor communication skills, failure to crack down on the county’s hot spots and dysfunctional vaccine rollout, she [Supervisor Mary Adams] said, “I hear so many people say Dr. Moreno is not the greatest communicator. Dr. Moreno is the most shy person I have ever met, and this is agony for him to have to speak publicly. He also is very conscious of giving precise and correct answers.”
The reporter, Mary Schley, adds:
Unmentioned during the call was the fact that Moreno’s job description requires him to be able to “prepare clear and concise written and oral reports,” and “speak effectively before large groups.”
READER COMMENTS
Jerry Brown
Feb 17 2021 at 1:39am
I hope you are able to get the vaccine soon. If you want it of course. I am somewhat disappointed with the pace of vaccinations that our country has managed so far. It seems to have varied state by state and possibly county by county as you report. My state of Connecticut seems to have been doing at least a relatively good job so far. Which I am happy about. I am definitely happy to report that my 76 year old father has been vaccinated which was a bit of a contentious issue the last time I commented here. Hopefully all people at most serious risk from this disease will have the opportunity to be vaccinated soon.
AMT
Feb 18 2021 at 12:44am
First,, I don’t have any actual knowledge of the situation, but if suppose, case numbers in the county were well below average at the moment, might it be justifiable, at least from on economist’s or utilitarian’s perspective, to not fight to be at the front of the line if you know that the vaccines could be used more effectively elsewhere?
Second, I’m not sure if there is actually any relevance to the fact that Dr. Moreno is, allegedly, a shy person. If you asked me to value the attributes of effectiveness vs outgoing personality, for a public official, every single time I would value them at 100-0, respectively. I only care about how much they contribute to society, not how much I, or anyone else likes them. I do not see shyness as being inherently detrimental (although it is possible, if for example the utilitarian analysis suggests they should fight for more vaccines for their district, yet they refused, but you have provided absolutely zero information to suggest so).
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