Eligible for Vaccine in California expands on March 15, but MyTurn website does not allow you to sign up

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – As of Monday, March 15, vaccine admissions are expanding massively in California, with another 4.4 million people. This is because this next phase of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution enables people with serious underlying health conditions to get a chance.

This applies to you if you are between 16 and 64 years old with one of the following conditions:

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or higher
• Chronic lung disease
• Down syndrome
• Immuno-compromised state due to organ transplantation
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Heart conditions (heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy; excludes hypertension)
• Severe obesity
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• Other developmental or high-risk disabilities that pose a particularly high risk to an individual

That last point makes things a bit vague. In essence, any person whose health may be classified as “endangered” by a medical provider.

Some call it a void, but dr. Grant Colfax, director of health in San Francisco, said it was intentional.

“If your healthcare provider says you are eligible for a vaccine, we will usually comply with the order,” Colfax said. “The point is, we want low access to vaccines. We do not want to create too much bureaucracy, too many forms.”

But bureaucracy is getting in the way. As of Friday afternoon, people with high-risk conditions have not been able to make appointments for Monday or any day thereafter on the MyTurn website. “It will be your turn soon, but you will not be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine,” the website said.

We asked the California Department of Public Health when these appointments would be available online. A spokesman replied: ‘The availability will be available by the 15th’, but did not offer a specific date or time.

VACCINE TRACKER: What’s up with California if you can get a coronavirus vaccine?

Are you having trouble loading the tracker above? Click here to open it in a new window.

Appointments can be difficult to reach until the vaccine supply really starts to increase.

“We do not expect a dramatic increase in the next few weeks,” said Mike Wasserman, who sits on California’s vaccination advisory committee. “But I am optimistic about what we hear from the Biden government. I certainly hope that we will see an increase in April. ‘

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he would order countries to be eligible for all on May 1, regardless of age, occupation or risk level.