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Approval of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States is not an immediate cure for the pandemic. Because Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are rare, only a select group of people can receive the vaccination – at least for now.
In Santa Clara County, that means health officials must administer vaccines to people in separate tier groups based on their age, job, and risk of exposure to COVID-19. As of December 30, at least 300,696 people had received COVID-19 vaccines in California, Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Santa Clara County has received more than 94,805 COVID-19 vaccines, along with additional doses to healthcare providers in several counties such as Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health as of December 31.
The people currently receiving the vaccine are mainly healthcare workers, older residents of assisted living facilities, and other essential workers who cannot work from home.
The general public will likely have to wait until spring or summer to access vaccines.
California public health officials have divided the priority groups into several phases and sub-levels.
Phase 1A
Santa Clara County health officials said they only had enough vaccine to cover the first two balls of Level 1 workers over the next few weeks. Non-clinical staff in these facilities, such as hospital room cleaners, interpreters and patient transporters, should also be given priority access.
If vaccines are too scarce to be provided to every worker, public health officials suggest rationing vaccines according to the age of each worker, first to workers 65 and older, then to workers aged 55. at 64 and finally to workers under 55.
Level 1:
- Workers in acute care, psychiatric and correctional hospitals
- Workers in skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities
- Elderly or medically vulnerable residents of skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and similar long-term care settings
- Paramedics, paramedics and other emergency medical service providers
- Dialysis center workers
Level 2:
- Workers in intermediate care facilities for people who require non-continuous nursing supervision and supportive care
- Home health care and home support workers
- Community health workers, including promoters, are lay members of the Latin American community who provide basic health education.
- Public health field staff
- Primary care clinics, including federally qualified health centers, rural health centers, correctional facility clinics, and emergency care clinics
Level 3
- Specialized clinics
- Laboratory workers
- Dental clinics and other oral health clinics
- Pharmacy staff do not work in higher level establishments
Phase 1B (under study)
The state’s Community Vaccine Advisory Committee has proposed new guidelines for determining who should receive vaccines after health workers and residents of acute care facilities.
These priority groups consist of the elderly and frontline workers at risk of exposure to the coronavirus because they are unable to work from home in the areas hardest hit by COVID-19. However, people will have to wait several weeks to gain access to these vaccines.
Level 1:
- Anyone over 75
- Education and child care workers
- Food and Agriculture Workers, which includes grocery store workers and field workers
Level 2:
- Anyone over 65 with underlying health conditions
- Critical workers in transportation and manufacturing
- Incarcerated persons
- The homeless
Phase 1C (under study)
Level 1:
- Anyone aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions or disabilities
- Workers in water and waste management, energy, chemicals and defense
- IT and financial service workers
- Community service providers
Have a question about COVID-19 vaccines? E-mail [email protected] and we will have the answer.
Contact Mauricio La Plante at [email protected] or follow @mslaplantenews on Twitter.
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