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In summary
Under new state guidelines, people between the ages of 16 and 64 with high-risk chronic illnesses and disabilities will join older Californians, food workers and educators. But not before March 15th.
Californians with high-risk health conditions will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines starting March 15, the Secretary of State for Health announced today.
According to previous state guidelines, people with chronic illnesses were not eligible for vaccination until those 65 and older, first responders, food industry workers, and educators were not vaccinated.
According to the new guidelines, people aged 16 to 64 with serious health conditions – such as heart, lung or kidney disease, diabetes, cancer and a weakened immune system – or with disabilities will join older Californians and certain essential workers from March 15.
State officials estimate that this group could number between 4 and 6 million people, bringing the total number of Californians eligible for the vaccine next month to between 17 and 19 million.
The move is “consistent with our response focused on saving lives, promoting fairness and, of course, moving to the other side of the pandemic,” said Dr Mark Ghaly, secretary of the pandemic. California Health and Human Services, during a press briefing. today.
Ghaly said delaying it for a month would allow the state to boost its vaccine supply, develop ways to determine eligibility and find out how to reach people confined to their homes.
Disability advocates have had mixed reactions to changing state priorities.
“The explicit inclusion of high-risk people with disabilities is a welcome change in the administration’s position, but the fragmentary recognition of people with high-risk health conditions, failure to recognize high exposure and health risks of Medi-Cal beneficiaries who need a home and community home services and the unexplained delay until March 15 are disappointing for all and will be fatal for some people with disabilities, ”said Silvia Yee, Senior Counsel for Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.
Supporters had criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for not prioritizing some of California’s most vulnerable residents, saying he was sacrificing fairness for speed.
The move comes as California ramps up its previously slow pace of COVID-19 vaccinations. More than 5.5 million doses have been administered to date, more than any other state. While California previously ranked the bottom of all states for its vaccination rates, it now ranks 21st, according to federal data.
Newly eligible groups can be vaccinated through their medical provider or at mass vaccination clinics if their medical condition permits, Ghaly said. Doctors will have the discretion to vaccinate people at high risk who do not fit into categories set by state officials.
Until last month, California had included people with disabilities or with medical conditions in the same priority group as Californians aged 65 to 74. They were in the category just behind those aged 75 and over. But then the state decided to prioritize vaccinations primarily by age, targeting those 65 and over. This meant that medically vulnerable people were left behind.
State officials listed the severe conditions in a notice to providers, including:
- Cancer, common with weakened or immunocompromised state
- Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or above
- Chronic lung disease, dependent on oxygen
- Down syndrome
- Immunosuppressed state (weakened immune system) following a solid organ transplant
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell anemia
- Heart disease, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies (excluding hypertension)
- Severe obesity (body mass index ≥ 40 kg / m2)
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus with hemoglobin A1c greater than 7.5%
The federal Centers for Disease Control recommends that people with underlying illnesses receive the vaccine alongside those aged 65 to 74. But states are allowed to adjust these priorities.
Other states vary in how they prioritize people with medical conditions.
New York will begin immunizing people with high-risk illnesses, including pregnancy and developmental disabilities, on Monday. Florida is currently vaccinating people considered by hospital providers to be “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19, as well as people 65 years of age and older. In contrast, Kansas has placed people under 65 with high-risk conditions behind people 65 and over, prisoners, and people living in “collective institutions” that are not retirement homes.
The coverage, translation and distribution of CalMatters COVID-19 is supported by generous grants from the Blue Shield of California Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, and California Health Care Foundation.
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