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This is why California is not expanding its eligibility for a vaccine for another month

March 15, 2021 by NewsDesk

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – There are growing signs from state health officials that California will not move to the next level of the COVID vaccine for at least a month.

That means that Californians over 50 or those who work in some jobs considered essential may have to wait weeks longer to even get a first dose of protection.

“It’s too soon to tell,” said Dr. Tomas Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health. “We’re going to look at the offer, we have analysts projecting all this out and we’ll see how many people are getting vaccinated. That really helps determine when we’ll make the next announcement.”

RELATED: California Vaccine Expansion Begins Monday, But Loophole Could Leave Room for People to Jump Over the Line

Meanwhile, California will focus its existing offering on those currently eligible, especially in communities hardest hit by the virus and where vaccine distribution is lagging.

For Californians between the ages of 50 and 65 hoping to qualify sooner rather than later, it looks like vaccine sites could be closed to them for at least a few more weeks, when states like Texas, Indiana, and Ohio have already moved into the age of 50.

“Here, at least in Northern California, we’ve really stuck to everything, social aloofness, the masks,” said Maureen O’Regan, who told us she heard from younger friends and family in Texas who have already been vaccinated. “So I just hate to be behind on the vaccines when we really did everything we should have been doing all this time.”

RELATED: How Can I Register for a COVID-19 Vaccine in California?

If California doesn’t qualify the next group for another month, the question arises whether the state can really be ready to qualify adults in all age groups by May 1, the target date announced last week by President Joe Biden .

“So the real question is, when will there be enough vaccine to be open to the general population?” said Dr. Mike Wasserman, who is on the California Vaccine Advisory Committee. “I think it will be somewhere near May, but I don’t know if we know the exact date.”

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VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, if you can get a coronavirus vaccine

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