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California is days away from a dramatic expansion in the number of people eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
But will there be enough doses for everyone?
Not immediately. But officials are increasingly optimistic that the scarcity that has caused so much frustration will soon turn into abundance – boosting the vaccination campaign.
After months of restrictive and at times confusing guidelines about who can roll up their sleeves and when, Californians aged 50 and over will be able to book appointments starting Thursday, and all residents 16 and over will be eligible. from April. 15.
The California Department of Finance, which monitors demographics, predicts that there are nearly 1.9 million people in LA County between the ages of 50 and 64, and 7.2 million in the state. Currently, only about 24% of Californians in this age group have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the state, compared to 38% of people aged 18 to 49, likely due to their occupation or job. health.
It is not known exactly how many people between the ages of 50 and 64 have yet to be vaccinated in LA County. Some have already become eligible either through their work or because they have eligible health conditions.
Even without the impending expansion, nearly half of all Californians are already eligible for the vaccine – including adults 65 and older, healthcare workers, educators, people incarcerated or living in homeless shelters. – shelter, essential workers such as those in the food industry or emergency. transit services and janitors; and residents 16 years of age and over who have underlying health conditions or disabilities.
Johnson & Johnson makes the difference
As supply shortages have stubbornly hampered the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in California and across the country, federal officials expect a major boost this week.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 million Johnson & Johnson doses are expected to be delivered nationwide, a huge number compared to what has been shipped to date, according to Jeff Zients, coordinator of the President’s COVID-19 task force. Biden.
It’s unclear how many of those extra doses will go to California, but any significant increase has the potential to dramatically speed up vaccine rollouts in the state.
As of Monday morning, 623,400 doses of Johnson & Johnson had been delivered to California and 330,419 had been administered, according to data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Slow but steady improvement
LA County is already starting to see its vaccine stocks increase.
The county plans to receive 338,100 total doses this week, which appears to be the highest weekly allowance yet, according to Dr Paul Simon, scientific director of the county’s public health department.
Over the past month, the county has received more than 250,000 to 280,000 doses per week, he said.
However, it will take time for the county to cope with its long queue of vaccinations, as well as welcoming those who will soon become eligible.
That, as is the case with so many things during the COVID-19 era, will be a balancing act, Simon said.
“Even with an increased supply of vaccines, we certainly can’t handle close to a million people in that first week, given all the other groups that are also currently being vaccinated,” he said. “But I think over the next few weeks demand will decrease a bit and things will open up, especially as the supply of vaccines continues to increase. And so I urge people to just be patient.
Achieve a milestone
Through a large network of providers that includes local public health departments, pharmacies, care consortia and other skilled health centers, California has now met its goal of being able to deliver 4 million doses per week, according to Blue Shield of California, which the state has retained to manage its vaccine network.
“We can handle more than that, frankly,” Blue Shield chairman Paul Markovich said in an interview on Friday.
He said the capacity includes all vendors who have signed contracts to be part of the statewide immunization network.
“There is still 3 million capacity out there that could eventually be contracted and integrated,” he said. “So there is a great capacity to deliver the vaccine.”
As of Friday, 20 counties had agreed to be part of the statewide network, according to a spokesperson for the state’s public health department. And Markovich said that “we are on the right track” to sign the other counties.
How to get vaccinated
Options include pharmacies, health departments, your health care provider or doctor, community pop-up clinics or by using the My Turn website. Details can be found:
- Online at MyTurn.ca.gov. The My Turn site is accessible to people with disabilities and in eight languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Japanese.
- By calling the state’s COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Times editor Melody Gutierrez contributed to this report.
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