With not enough vaccine doses yet to meet demand, a coalition of Bay Area health officials on Wednesday urged all health systems to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines for people 65 and older – a group with by far the highest rates of death during the pandemic – moving some key workers further down the list.
“We have to be direct and fair to the public that while we want to vaccinate everyone, we just don’t have enough vaccine to do that right now,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County health officer and director of the public. Health. “Given the limited supply of vaccines, we must prioritize vaccinating those most at risk of death or serious illness.”
Recent changes in state rules have shifted the list of priorities, with doctors, nurses, and nursing home patients in the first group who are eligible to be vaccinated, called Stage 1A, and people 65 and older in the second group, called Stage 1B. However, that second group also includes “ essential workers ” of all ages, including teachers, police firefighters, paramedics, childcare workers, agricultural workers, and transport workers, along with Californians who live in close quarters prone to outbreaks, such as the homeless and inmates.
Statewide, there are 3 million people in the Phase 1A group and 8.5 million more in the Phase 1B group.
Health care providers and political leaders are heavily lobbied by unions and other groups representing various professions, and receive thousands of calls from members of the public who now want their photo. But California only received 1 million doses of vaccine from the federal government this week. As of Wednesday, 3.8 million Californians have received at least one dose.
Many regional health departments and private providers such as Kaiser, Sutter and others are already prioritizing the elderly.
The science is clear. Statewide, the majority of COVID cases happen in younger people. But most deaths occur among the elderly.
According to data from the California Department of Public Health, on Wednesday, 74.4% of the 41,811 people in California who died from COVID-19 were 65 and older. Another 18.8% of the deaths were people 50 to 64 years old. Only 6.7% of deaths occurred in people under 50.
Men represent 57% of all deaths statewide. Women 43%.
But when it comes to the number of cases, 70.3% of Californians who tested positive for COVID-19 are under the age of 50. There are also breed breakdowns. Nearly half of the deaths, or 46%, were Latinos, while 32% were White, 12% Asian, and 6% Black.
“Three out of four COVID-19 deaths in Marin are among residents 75 or older,” said Dr. Matt Willis, public health officer for Marin County, who has the highest per capita older adult population of any county in California. . “A vaccine offered to a resident over 75 years old is 300 times more likely to save a life than a vaccine offered to someone under 50 years old.”
In Wednesday’s announcement, Marin, Napa, Santa Cruz and Solano counties said they would prioritize residents 75 and older.
Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties said they prioritize people 65 and older. All provinces are doing this in addition to continuing to vaccinate Phase 1A health workers, many of whom have already received a first dose.
Alameda and Sonoma counties did not join the other counties to give way to older people.
At a press conference Wednesday to announce the opening of two major vaccination sites at the Oakland Coliseum and Cal-State Los Angeles, as part of a program announced by President Biden to build 100 federal vaccine sites, Governor Gavin Newsom noted that in in the past several weeks, California and other states have started receiving more doses.
The state went from vaccinating 50,000 people a day a month ago to 150,000 a day now. Biden has ordered an additional 200 million doses from Pfizer and Moderna. Vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and other companies are expected to be approved in the coming weeks, increasing supply.
Hospital admissions from COVID are down 30% in recent weeks and the number of cases has dropped from 60,000 a day statewide a month ago to about 10,000 a day now.
“We are moving forward aggressively and I think you will see those vaccination rates continue to increase,” Newsom said. “We are aware that we need to get more support and delivery not only from the federal government, but more support and delivery direct from these manufacturers.”
Many of the problems with the supply of vaccines were due to the Trump administration not providing the states with as many doses as they promised, said Dr. John Swartzberg, professor emeritus of public health at UC Berkeley. Add to that, the Trump White House did not have a national plan for vaccine distribution and did not provide the states with sufficient funding to set up massive vaccination centers. Biden took office thirteen days ago.
“I don’t blame the states or the county’s health departments,” he said. “The blame is on the federal government.”
Swartzberg said the California state government bears some responsibility for the delay. He said the level system that Governor Gavin Newsom originally rolled out was too complicated and rigid, leaving too many doses in freezers. Some healthcare providers have also withheld doses to ensure that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals have second doses.
As of Wednesday, California’s numbers improved: 64% of the doses it received have been dispensed.
Last month, Newsom allowed everyone 65 and older to be placed higher on the priority list for injections as a way to give more vaccine.
The situation should improve in the coming weeks, Swartzberg said, urging patience.
“I appreciate the frustration,” said Swartzberg. ‘I’m frustrated too. But try to step back from the situation and say, ‘I can protect myself from contamination. I can wear a mask, I can distance myself socially. I can stay at home. ‘That will almost certainly prevent you from getting infected. You can buy time until the system works and the vaccine is plentiful. “