California is opening COVID-19 vaccines to all residents aged 65 and older – an announcement that comes amid a slower-than-expected vaccination and growing frustration among seniors who are most vulnerable to the virus.
State health officials have previously ordered California to focus on vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents, with seniors 75 years and older and certain essential workers to follow. But people over 65 are the most hospitalized and nearly three-quarters of COVID-19 deaths.
Next week, the state will launch a text-and-email notification system so Californians can keep track of when they are eligible to sign up for their survey, according to the Department of Public Health.
The announcement comes a day after the US Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, declared that the federal government did not want to discuss doses for the second survey – both the Pfizer and Modern vaccines needed two doses.
Production has reached a point where there is now enough to release more doses to states as it becomes available, Azar said. He instructed states to open vaccinations for people 65 and older and for people under 65 with an existing condition, while noting that many states are “too prescriptive” and do not distribute vaccines fast enough.
The new guidelines in California do not include people under 65 who already have pre-existing conditions. State health officials have not yet explained why.
” Part of the process we set up in California – really considerate and trying to focus on risk and exposure and equity – has led to some delays in delivering vaccines to our communities. ‘
– Dr Mark Ghaly, Secretary of Health and Human Services
According to the Department of Public Health, California administered just over 816,600 doses on Tuesday – about 30% of the doses it possesses. A federal tracker shows that most states vaccinate people faster than in California.
Last week, Gavin Newsom set a goal of administering another 1 million vaccines by this weekend by recruiting four mass vaccination sites: Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, Petco Park in San Diego and Cal Expo in Sacramento.
The new guideline throws the state off its carefully designed system for vaccines, but more vaccines are good news for the state, said dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s health secretary, said in a press call on Tuesday.
“If you have more vaccines that need more to be vaccinated, California can go through our population faster and get the vaccine out of our freezers and get protection in the population,” Ghaly said.
Residents of Berkeley Carly and André Rivers. Carly received her COVID-19 vaccine last week, but Andre is still waiting for her. Photo courtesy of Andre Rivers
This announcement may provide the necessary clarity to seniors who have been searching for answers for weeks.
André Rivers, for one, is anxious to get her COVID-19 vaccine. The 74-year-old asked her GP and her rheumatologist when she could get one. Neither of the two could give answers.
Her wife, Carly Rivers, who has Alzheimer’s, got her through the Berkeley PACE Center last week, part of a state program that helps seniors coordinate care so they can live in their own home instead of a competent nursing home.
‘Now that Carly has it, it makes sense that I should have it; we do everything together, ”Rivers said. “When I go out, she goes with me.”
Instead, Rivers, like many other California seniors who have been mostly isolated from friends and family for the past ten months, waited patiently for her turn. The frustration and anticipation grows.
COVID-19 has taken the greatest toll on older adults. Early in the pandemic, elderly people were advised to take refuge in their place because of their vulnerability, even before the entire state was locked up. In California, nearly 75% of all COVID-19 deaths of people are 65 years and older.
Shortly after vaccines began arriving in California, provinces reported being flooded with calls from senior residents seeking information.
“If you’re trying to be micromanaged, to adapt, to be focused, you’re perfect to be the enemy of the good in mass action like this. ‘
– Alex Azar, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary
California has promised from day one to distribute vaccines fairly, targeting people based on risk. But these stock attempts hampered distribution.
“Part of the process we set up in California – really considerate and trying to focus on risks and exposure and equity – has led to some delays in delivering vaccines into our communities,” Ghaly said.
Secretary Azar said the states are constrained by the original guidance of the Disease Control Center’s advisory committee, which recommends that states first direct health workers and nursing homes.
“Some governors have reacted too much and taken it in an overly prescribed way, and it’s a logistical matter, it’s an operational issue,” he said. “If you’re trying to be micromanaged, to adapt, to be focused, you’re perfect to be the enemy of the good in mass action like this. ‘
Some provinces did not wait for state education. Following the federal announcement, Orange County announced Tuesday that it will begin offering vaccines to residents 65 and older.
Orange County Public Health Officer, dr. Clayton Chau, said he made the decision after checking hospital and death rates. According to the province’s findings, 72% of patients in intensive care units are 60 and older.
“My goal is to reduce hospitalizations and deaths as quickly as possible, and we must prioritize our allocation of vaccines to protect the most vulnerable in our community,” Chau said in a statement.
Orange County has urged residents not to show up to their distribution sites without appointments, noting that sites have already been overwhelmed.
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