The health secretary of California, dr. Mark Ghaly, announced on Friday that millions of young Californians with disabilities and underlying health conditions that put them at risk for serious COVID infections will be eligible for vaccinations from March 15.
San Francisco has already talked about giving vaccines to people with severe underlying health conditions in Phase 1C, with Phase 1B starting on February 24th. But now the state has agreed to distribute the vaccines to a broad section of the population in just one month, at the discretion of healthcare providers.
Eligible will be people from 16 to 64 years with a variety of disabilities and people with cancer, chronic kidney disease in stage 4 or higher, chronic lung disease, Down syndrome, a weakened immune system due to a solid organ transplant, sickle cell disease, pregnancy , heart disease, severe obesity – with a body mass index of over 40 – and type 2 diabetes.
As KTVU reports, healthcare providers will ultimately determine whether patients should be eligible – and the exact criteria and evidence of a condition remain a bit unclear. But with 13 million Californians currently eligible for vaccines, this change will benefit between 17 and 19 million people as of March 15, although the distribution will still depend on a larger amount of vaccine flowing into the state.
Ghaly explained that the wait until March 15 to include these groups is due to the lack of adequate vaccine supply.
“I want the disability community to know, we’ve heard you, and we’re going to do more and better to provide access, even with the scarcity,” Governor Gavin Newsom said Friday during a visit to the San Francisco Mass. vaccination at the Moscone Center.
Andrew Imparato, executive director of Disability Rights California, told the Chronicle: ‘I’m grateful they committed themselves to a time frame, and if they estimate the number so large (4 million to 6 million more), it’s a very good sign . ‘
As of Friday, about 5.5 million Californians got their first vaccine shots. In San Francisco, 111137 people were vaccinated with their first shots as of Thursday, representing 15% of the population over the age of 16. Nearly 31,000 residents of SF both received the doses.
Related: Everyone over 65 in the mission, Bernal and Potrero can now get vaccinated at SF General
Photo: Chaz Bharj/ Getty Images