- On Monday, the California Department of Consumer Affairs issued a waiver allowing California dentists to administer coronavirus vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- California administered only about 450,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines out of nearly 1.9 million doses distributed to the state.
- The state sees a shortage of resources amid this increase in cases. Southern California has an alarming 0% availability of ICU capacity, according to the California Department of Public Health.
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Dentists in California can now administer vaccines according to a new order in the state.
On Monday, the California Department of Consumer Affairs issued a waiver allowing California dentists to administer vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Gavin Newsom, governor of California, has so far said according to the Associated Press that the state has vaccinated only 1% of its 40 million people. According to Monday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California administered only about 450,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine out of nearly 1.9 million doses distributed to the state.
Read more: 5 public health experts tell us what the US must do now to get COVID-19 under control
This order comes because California sees an overwhelming number of cases of coronavirus. According to the COVID Tracking Project, cases have increased by 12.3% in the past week – on Monday alone, more than 29,000 new cases of the virus occurred. According to Johns Hopkins University, as of Tuesday, the state has recorded nearly 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 and at least 26,880 deaths due to the virus.
California sees a shortage of resources amid this increase in cases. Southern California has an alarming 0% availability of ICU capacity, and the Bay Area records a 7.9% available ICU capacity as of Monday, according to the Department of Public Health.
Meanwhile, hospitals in the state are setting up field tents outside to make room for more patients, and some patients have been treated in a hospital gift shop. In Los Angeles County, which has seen a 905% increase in the weekly average number of cases since Nov. 1, hospitals are struggling to provide enough oxygen to their patients.