The move puts seniors in line before emergency workers, teachers, child care providers and food and agriculture workers, though counties complain they no longer have enough. dose to circulate.
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“There is no higher priority than the efficient and equitable distribution of these vaccines as quickly as possible to those facing serious consequences,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. To those who are not yet eligible for vaccines, it will be your turn. we are doing everything we can to bring more vaccines to the state. “
While health workers and those in nursing homes and other cohabitation centers can still be vaccinated, state officials are extending the program to people 65 and older because they are at higher risk of being hospitalized and dying.
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California has seen cases of viruses and hospitalizations erupt since Thanksgiving, though in recent days the numbers have flattened.
“With our hospitals crowded and ICUs full, we need to focus on vaccinating Californians who are most at risk of being hospitalized to relieve stress in our health care facilities,” said Dr. Tomas Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health and the state’s public health officer. Prioritizing people 65 and older will reduce hospitalizations 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 committee on Tuesday worried that adding seniors would inevitably delay vaccinations for others.
Anthony Wright, executive director of the health care advocacy group Health Access California, said he was generally in favor of moving toward vaccination of older residents, the group most likely to be hospitalized and die of coronavirus. But he was one of those who said the expansion could further strain the deployment of scarce vaccines in the state.
“This is a very tough conversation about compensation,” he said.
Adding aging doesn’t mean we abandon our commitment ”to those who are already in line for vaccines, the group’s co-chair, California’s general surgeon, 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 to receive a vaccine, which will begin next week.
If residents are not yet eligible, the system will allow them to register to receive a text or email notification when they do so.
A second phase of this system will help counties and cities that have initiated mass inoculation centers at sports stadiums and fairgrounds, as it will allow eligible citizens to schedule their appointments at mass vaccination events.
Newsom set a goal last week to deliver 1 million doses on Friday, beyond the approximately 480,000 that had been administered last week.
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