The move puts seniors in line for counselors, teachers, daycare providers, and food and agricultural workers, even as counties complain they don’t already have enough doses to go around.
CA COVID-19 VACCIN TRACKER: How the state is doing, if you can get a coronavirus vaccine
“There is no higher priority than the efficient and equitable distribution of these vaccines as soon as possible to those facing the most serious consequences,” Gavin Newsom said in a statement. It’s your turn.Do everything we can to bring more vaccine into the state. ”
While health workers and people in nursing homes and other municipal housing facilities can still be vaccinated, government officials are extending the program to people over 65 because they are most at risk of hospitalization and death.
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California has seen virus cases and hospitalizations explode since Thanksgiving, although the numbers have flattened in recent days.
“With our hospitals overcrowded and ICUs full, we need to focus on vaccinating Californians most at risk of hospitalization to relieve stress on our healthcare facilities,” said Dr. Tomas Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health and the state’s public health officer. Giving priority to those 65 and older will reduce hospital admissions and save lives. “
The moves follow Tuesday’s recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it comes after members of a state advisory panel on Tuesday feared that adding seniors will inevitably delay vaccines for others.
Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, the consumer health advocate, said he generally preferred vaccinating elderly residents, the group most likely to be hospitalized and dying from the coronavirus. But he was among those who said the expansion could put further pressure on the already delayed rollout of scarce vaccines.
“This is a very difficult conversation about compromise,” he said.
Adding the aging doesn’t mean giving up our commitment ” to those who are already vaccine candidates, California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris later said. We work together to solve multiple challenges at the same time. ”
Newsom also announced a new system to let people know if they are eligible for a vaccine, starting next week.
If residents are not yet eligible, they can register through the system for an SMS or email notification.
A second phase ” of that system will help counties and cities that have started massive vaccination centers in sports stadiums and exhibition grounds by allowing eligible members of the public to schedule their appointments at mass vaccination events.
Last week, Newsom set a goal to deliver 1 million doses by Friday, more than the roughly 480,000 administered last week.
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