The U.S. state of California adds millions of people to its Covid-19 vaccination priority list, including residents “at high risk with developmental and other disabilities” and those with “severe underlying health conditions.”
The plan, outlined by state health officials at a briefing on Friday, will begin on March 15 and allow cancer patients, pregnant women and other people with disabilities to join health workers, seniors, teachers and farm staff to make a vaccine. The expansion could add up to 6 million more Californians to the list of priorities.
It also extends the ages from 65 or older to 16 to 64 in these categories.
The Secretary of the California Agency for Human Services and Health, Dr. Mark Ghaly, told reporters that on March 15 he would begin giving officials time to work out details on how to get vaccines for people with multiple disabilities and that they could include home visits.
Ghaly acknowledged that the timing could be optimistic and warned that “we are still facing a shortage of vaccines. This week the drastic vaccine deficit in the state led to the closure of mass vaccination centers in Los Angeles.”
The expanded list of eligible people includes people with cancer, chronic kidney disease, oxygen-dependent heart disease, Down syndrome, immunocompromised organ transplant recipients, pregnant women, people with sickle cell disease, severe and certain obesity. type 2 diabetes.
Ghaly expressed concern about the inequity of distribution between color communities and low-income areas. There are plans to reach out to community clinics, public health systems and what they call “trusted messengers to the communities the data show are reluctant to get vaccinated.”
Senior state health officials acknowledged complaints from rural counties that they were not given the fair share of vaccines. However, officials say that historically these areas have been medically undervalued and that much of the early distribution was done in areas with a high number of medical workers.
Officials say the focus will now be on rural areas of the California farming community, which has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Officials also believe that focusing on Californians with developmental disabilities and severe underlying conditions will allow for more vaccinations in vulnerable settings, such as prisons, homeless shelters, and areas where homeless people reside.
The state estimates that 13 million Californians are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine, including 3 million health workers, 3.4 million food and agriculture workers, 1.4 million in the education sector, one million in emergency services and more than 6 million people over the age of 65.