Family caregivers are eligible for vaccination, but some loved ones cannot.

Informal family caregivers are now able to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but even if the state expands the list of eligible people last week, loved ones with certain medical conditions may not be able to get it.

February 2 Update of health recommendations, County health officials have revealed that both formal and informal caregivers of the elderly and people with disabilities are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

The group includes not only those who are paid to work in their private homes, but also unpaid caregivers who provide daily care to their loved ones at home. For informal caregivers, they do not have to live in the same house as the relatives they care for.

Paid caregivers can view their pay slips or timesheets as proof of eligibility, but the latter group is a letter from the San Diego Regional Center or needing care indicating that they are caring for one of their clients. Healthcare professionals; medical institutions (# etc. depending on the context.

Long-term care advocates say it is important to vaccinate caregivers who may come in and out of the house to get groceries, get things done, or go to work. It potentially increases the risk of infecting their loved ones.

If caregivers become ill or hospitalized due to the virus, their relatives may not have someone to care for them properly and tend to meet their needs.

“It’s very important for family caregivers to get vaccinated. Alzheimer’s President and CEO of San Diego, Eugenia Welch, said:” I am family caregiver. Who will take care of me if I get COVID? “

However, they often take care of people who do not yet have access to the vaccine.

On Friday, the California Public Health Service announced that people between the ages of 16 and 64 living in certain health conditions would be eligible for the vaccine from March 15.

This includes people with stage 4 or higher chronic kidney disease, Down’s syndrome, sickle cell disease, heart disease, severe obesity, and type 2 diabetes. It also includes people who are pregnant or have chronic lung disease and are oxygen dependent, and those who are immunocompromised due to cancer or solid organ transplants.

Finally, someone can also receive vaccination priorities if they have a developmental or other severe high-risk disorder at risk of serious life-threatening COVID-19 infection. If the virus is particularly difficult given their well-being, or coronavirus care, given the person’s disability.

According to a CDPH statement, it is at the discretion of the healthcare provider whether anyone in these groups “has the highest risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19.”

However, those who are specifically excluded from the list are those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

People with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are not only at increased risk of getting the new coronavirus, but they are also at increased risk of getting a serious infection if they get sick, Welch said.

As of February 6, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia was the fourth most common underlying illness among those who died of COVID-19 in San Diego County, accounting for 22% of deaths, according to county health officials. I am.

Due to the cognitive decline it causes, people with dementia do not always remember wearing masks, social distances, or pandemics. People with dementia are also more likely to have other health conditions associated with the negative consequences of COVID-19.

“Elderly people with dementia often have some sort of underlying condition, whether it’s a heart problem or diabetes,” Welch said. “We know that with someone suffering from COVID, one of those underlying conditions becomes a more serious case and it is at increased risk of being actually fatal.”

Carlsbad resident and family caregiver Barb Aben volunteers for the first and second COVID-19 vaccines in preparation for working at the North County Threshold Singers vaccination clinic at the Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. I have already been vaccinated. However, she is worried about her husband, Karl Iben, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2015.

The 64-year-old pair lives in a multi-generational household with two sons, a daughter-in-law and a three-year-old grandson. When the pandemic began, the family agreed to isolate and shift their daily lives to keep Karl safe.

“We were always known as the couple who threw every party,” Barb said. “The fun part was making friends, but that’s all changed.”

One son switched to an online-only class during the last semester of college, and the other signed on to teach from home rather than in the classroom. Their grandchildren, who just started going full-time day care in early 2020, are now doing distance learning at home.

Their daughter-in-law works in the medical field and may be with friends to reduce the risk of bringing the virus home.

“If they live independently, if they are of age, they probably don’t need to be so careful as they are, so it puts a big damper in their lives. “Burb said.

Karl and Barb may dine in different rooms or outdoors rather than the whole family.

She doesn’t think her dedication to staying at home will change much in the coming months, but Barb really wants Karl to get the vaccine as an additional layer of protection soon.

“I really want these younger-onset patients to get some kind of allowance,” she said. “I am well aware that Alzheimer’s disease not only affects his brain, but is also an overall physical challenge for him.”

The county is currently in the first steps of Phases 1A and 1B of the Immunization Priority List for people over the age of 65. People between the ages of 50 and 64 have to wait until the next stage of the key worker is vaccinated.

At a county press conference Thursday, supervisory board chairman Nathan Fletcher said he did not speculate on how quickly these groups of care recipients could be vaccinated. It depends on when the county can give shots to key workers and how quickly vaccinations within the group are carried out.

“We really (have no quote) -that’s the same reason we can’t say for sure when we do the first group of key workers,” he said. “I think it’s not in the months, but in the coming weeks, but I don’t know when to get over it and move on to the next group.”

Fletcher added that authorities expect a significant increase in supply in March, but it is not yet clear when the proportion of new doses flowing into the county will increase.