California recently said that people 65 and older are eligible to receive coronavirus vaccinations. But getting two shots in everyone in that age group could take another four to five months, health officials said Wednesday.
Given the current rate of vaccines coming into the state – between 400,000 doses and 500,000 doses per week, within a good week – it will take an estimated 20 to 22 weeks for the 65-and-over population to enter alone. ent, the state health officer dr. Erica Pan said during a state advisory committee for vaccine advice.
According to the committee, there are approximately 6.2 million Californians who are 65 years or older. It is believed that herd immunity is achieved if at least 70% of the people are vaccinated, so 4.34 million people in this group should be vaccinated. Since the two currently available vaccinations, by Pfizer and Moderna, both require two doses, 8.68 million doses will be needed to complete vaccinations for this group alone.
The state has so far received about 4 million doses. Vaccinations began about four weeks ago, with frontline workers in health care.
Pan said Wednesday that most competent nursing homes in California that are part of the federal pharmacy program of CVS and Walgreens will soon complete the vaccinations. Other long-term care facilities, such as assistance centers, will be vaccinated by mid-February.
Inconsistent, scarce vaccine supply was a major problem in the deployment of the coronavirus vaccine. States get their vaccines from the federal government, and the state allocates doses to provinces and health care providers.
The state expects to receive vaccinations at 400,000 to 500,000 doses per week over the next few weeks, although this could increase by 100,000 doses per week.
“It’s a very small amount at least for the next few weeks,” Pan said.
Pan said officials hope additional vaccine manufacturers will soon apply for FDA emergency approvals, which will help increase the vaccine supply, but the earliest that is likely to happen is March. Health officials also hope the government in Biden will provide more clarity on the country’s vaccine supply.
Pan also said at Wednesday’s meeting that the state will soon issue a statement on the handful of people who had allergic reactions after receiving the Moderna vaccine last week at a mass vaccination site in Petco Park in San Diego. The state recommended that the use of 330,000 vaccines be discontinued, leaving many provinces and health care systems even shorter than they already were.
Catherine Ho is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ Kat_Ho