Deployment of CA vaccine: Healthy people up in March

In summary

Under the new state guidelines, people between the ages of 16 and 64 with chronic, high-risk conditions and disabilities will join senior Californians, food workers, and educators. But not until March 15th.

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Californians with high-risk medical conditions will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 15. The state health minister announced today.

Under the state before GuidelinesPeople with chronic illnesses were not eligible for vaccination until those over the age of 65, first responders, food industry workers and educators were vaccinated.

under New guidelinesPeople aged 16-64 years with severe health or disabilities, such as heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, diabetes, cancer, weakened immunity, and some older Californians from March 15th Join the important workers of.

State officials estimate that the number of people in the group could be between 4 and 6 million, and that the total number of Californians eligible for vaccination next month will be between 17 and 19 million.
At a press conference, California Secretary of Health and Welfare, Dr. Mark Garry, said the move was “our response focused on saving lives, promoting fairness, and of course reaching the other side of the pandemic. Is consistent with. ” today.

A month’s delay will help the state build vaccine supplies, develop ways to determine eligibility, and understand how to reach returnees, Garry said.
Defenders of disability have responded differently to changing state priorities.

“Explicit inclusion of people with high-risk disabilities is a welcome change in the administration’s position, but a fragmentary perception of people with high-risk health, Medi-Cal benefits that require a home. High exposure and failure to recognize health risks, community-based services at home, and unexplained delays until March 15 are disappointing for all and fatal for some disabled people. “It will be,” said Sylvia Yi, senior staff lawyer at the Foundation for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Education and Defense.

Proponents criticized Governor Gavin Newsom for not prioritizing some of California’s most vulnerable residents, saying he was sacrificing fairness for speed.

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This move is due to California accelerating the pace of COVID-19 vaccination, which was previously sluggish. To date, it has been given more than 5.5 million doses, more than any other state. California was previously ranked at the bottom of all states in terms of immunization rates, but is now ranked 21st, according to federal data.

Newly qualified groups can be vaccinated at health care providers or mass vaccination clinics, if health permits, Garry said. Physicians have the discretion to vaccinate high-risk people who do not fall into the categories set by state authorities.

Until last month, California included people with disabilities or medical conditions in the same priority group as Californians between the ages of 65 and 74. They were listed in the immediate back layer of people over the age of 75. However, since then, the state has prioritized vaccinations primarily by age for people aged 65 and over. That meant that medically vulnerable people were left behind.

State officials have described the harsh conditions in recommendations for providers, including:

• Current status of cancer, weakness or immunodeficiency
• Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or higher
• Chronic lung disease, oxygen dependence
• Down’s syndrome
• Immunodeficiency due to solid organ transplantation (immunity weakening)
• pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Cardiac conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathy (excluding hypertension)
• Severe obesity (body mass index ≥ 40 kg / m2)
• Type 2 diabetes with hemoglobin A1c levels above 7.5%
• The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people with underlying illness be vaccinated with people between the ages of 65 and 74. However, the state is allowed to adjust these priorities.

In other states, there are different ways to prioritize people in good health.

New York will begin vaccination on Monday for people at high risk, such as pregnancy and developmental disabilities. Florida is currently vaccination with people over the age of 65 who are considered by hospital providers to be “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19. In contrast, Kansas has placed high-risk people under the age of 65 behind people over the age of 65, prisoners, and people living in non-nursing homes.

The coverage, translation and distribution of CalMatters COVID-19 is supported by generous grants from the California Foundation’s Blue Shield, California Wellness Foundation, and California Healthcare Foundation.

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