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California counties are finally getting more COVID-19 vaccines.
Yet despite this, getting a first dose becomes more difficult. This is because large amounts of new supplies are reserved for people needing their second dose, leaving fewer doses for everyone else eligible.
Here are some things you should know:
Where are we with vaccine shipments?
Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, has seen its vaccine shipments swing wildly over the past month, making it difficult for officials to accurately determine how much supplies they will have. About 193,950 doses arrived the week of January 11, but 168,575 were delivered the following week and only 137,725 arrived the following week.
Most recently, the county received 184,625 doses – a number that is expected to climb this week to over 218,000.
THE is far from alone singing the vaccine blues. Officials across California have lamented the limited and variable vaccine shipments they have received, saying they have the capacity to deliver many more vaccines.
“We cannot move fast enough,” Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday. “We are sober and aware of the scarcity of the number of vaccines available.”
Officials say they will be able to deliver more early doses when they start receiving larger, longer-lasting shipments.
How much vaccine is reserved for the second doses?
LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said on Monday that about 55% of the doses expected this week would be needed for the second injections – which are needed a few weeks after people roll up their sleeves for the first. times.
County officials have already said they will be limit administering second doses for the rest of the week, starting Tuesday, at a handful of large vaccination sites: the Fairplex in Pomona, the Forum in Inglewood, the Downey County office of education, Cal State Northridge , El Sereno, Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia and Balboa sports complex in Encino.
While the county has committed to providing second doses as close as possible to the recommended interval – three weeks for Pfizer-BioNTech and four weeks for Moderna – Ferrer acknowledged that “it is difficult to run a vaccination program. with such variability in weekly allocations. . “
Dr Paul Simon, scientific director of the LA County Department of Public Health, said last week that only a very limited number of people will be able to receive their first doses this week at the county’s five mega-PODs, or mass points. of distribution.
“We are just grappling with the supply, the limited supply and we feel obligated to make sure that people who have received a first dose can receive their second dose,” he said in a briefing. .
“But we know, just by the numbers, at least next week at our sites, beyond Monday, we really have to stick to the second doses. When we get to the next week, it might be a little different if we manage to get more vaccine. But we’ll have to wait and see.
Is this the right approach?
Given the shortage, there has been considerable public debate on whether officials should focus on delivering the first doses to as many people as possible, rather than reserving valuable supplies to ensure the timely administration of a second dose.
Even a single hit is believed to provide some level of protection against COVID-19. Officials said that if it was not possible to meet the recommended schedule, in extremely rare circumstances, administration of the second dose within six weeks of the first could be performed.
But federal officials agree that the second dose should be given as close to the recommended time as possible.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top infectious disease specialist, said on Monday that the two-dose regimen unleashed the full benefits of the vaccine. While the first dose offers “some degree of protection”, the second dose increases the level of protection by a factor of 10.
This is important not only “because of the height of the response and the power of the response, but when you reach that level of antibody you get a greater magnitude of response,” he said on the occasion. a briefing from the White House COVID-19 response team. “And by the breadth of the response, we mean that it covers not only the … virus currently circulating, but also the variants that we see circulating.”
What are the latest eligibility rules currently?
Currently, California reserves doses only for people 65 years of age and older, as well as medical workers and first responders.
It will take months to vaccinate these groups, but there is a lot of debate about the next step.
Trade unions, disability rights groups, teachers and others are all advocating for their cause. The state’s 60-member vaccine advisory committee has spent weeks discussing the matter and may make a decision this week.
But on Monday, Newsom said details were still being chopped up and that he and Dr Mark Ghaly, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, had committed to developing a plan for ‘here the end of the week.
Last month, Newsom said that after the state vaccinated people 65 and older and healthcare workers, the rollout plan would switch to an age-based eligibility approach – an announcement that lacked clarity and caused widespread confusion. On Monday, Newsom said the age-based plan referred to adults 65 and over eligible for the vaccine.
Focusing on the elderly, people with disabilities and others at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from coronavirus has the potential to save many lives. Reserving doses for essential workers would also help slow the spread of the disease. And moving educators to a higher position could prompt teachers to return to campus for in-person lessons.
At a consultative meeting last week, members of the small group responsible for drafting the state’s vaccine guidelines said new recommendations would be presented after Friday meetings between the task force and a new task force of the state.
The state task force, made up of members of the departments of Aging, Disability Services, and Health and Human Services, was recently launched to organize logistics to determine how residents with disabilities and issues of underlying health could be prioritized.
State guidelines give local authorities some discretion over the following priorities – and these options include teachers. As a result, some local health agencies have started accepting appointments to immunize teachers and other frontline educators, including Riverside County and the City of Long Beach – which has its own independent local public health department in County of. THE.
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