California Allows Residents 65 and Over to Get Rare Coronavirus Vaccines

SACRAMENTO, California – California is allowing residents 65 years of age and over to obtain rare coronavirus vaccines, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday.

Move puts seniors in line ahead of emergency workers, teachers, child care providers, and food and agriculture workers even as counties complain they don’t have enough doses for everyone.

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“There is no higher priority than effectively and equitably distributing these vaccines as quickly as possible to those who suffer the most serious consequences,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. To those who are not yet eligible for vaccines, it’s your turn to come. are doing all we can to bring more vaccines to the state. ”

While healthcare workers and those in nursing homes and other collective living centers can still be vaccinated, officials are expanding the program to people 65 and older, as they are at the greatest risk of being hospitalized and to die.

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California has seen virus cases and hospitalizations skyrocket since Thanksgiving, although in recent days the numbers have flattened.

“With our hospitals overcrowded and our intensive care units full, we need to focus on vaccinating Californians most at risk of hospitalization to alleviate the stress on our health care facilities,” said Dr. Tomas Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health and state public health official. Prioritizing people aged 65 and over will reduce hospitalizations and save lives. ”

The move follows recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. But it comes after members of a state advisory group feared Tuesday that the addition of seniors will inevitably delay vaccines for others.

Anthony Wright, executive director of consumer advocacy group for healthcare Health Access California, said he was generally in favor of vaccinating older residents, the group most likely to be hospitalized and die from the coronavirus . But he was among those who said the expansion could still weigh on the state’s already delayed deployment of rare vaccines.

“It’s a very difficult conversation about tradeoffs,” he said.

Adding aging doesn’t mean we’re giving up on our commitment ” to those already in line for vaccines, group co-chair California General Surgeon Dr Nadine Burke Harris later said. We are working together to solve multiple challenges at the same time. ”

Newsom also announced a new system for people to find out if they are eligible to receive a vaccine, starting next week.

If residents are not yet eligible, the system will allow them to sign up for an SMS or email notification when they are.

A second phase ” of this system will help counties and cities that have set up mass vaccination centers at sports stadiums and fairs by allowing eligible members of the public to schedule their appointments at events of mass vaccination.

Newsom set a target last week to deliver 1 million doses by Friday, over and above the 480,000 doses administered last week.

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