Because there are not yet enough vaccine doses to meet the demand, a coalition of health officials in the Bay on Wednesday called on all health systems to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines for people aged 65 and older – a group that dies the highest percentage. during the pandemic – and move essential workers further down the list.
“We need to be direct and honest with the public that, although we all want to be vaccinated, we currently just do not have enough vaccine to do so,” said Dr. Sara Cody, health officer and director of the public in Santa Clara County, said. health. “Given the limited amount of vaccine, we should give preference to those who are at greatest risk for death or serious disease vaccination.”
Recent changes in state rules have shifted the priority list, with doctors, nurses and nursing home patients in the first group to be vaccinated, called Phase 1A, and people 65 and older in the second group, called Phase 1B. In that second group, however, there are “essential workers” of all ages, including teachers, police officers, paramedics, child care workers, farm workers and transportation workers, as well as California residents living nearby, such as the homeless and inmates.
Overall, there are 3 million people in the Phase 1A group and 8.5 million more in the Phase 1B group.
Healthcare providers and political leaders are strongly advocated by unions and other groups representing different professions, and receive thousands of calls from members of the public who now want to shoot. But California received only 1 million doses of vaccine from the federal government this week. As of Wednesday, 3.8 million Californians have received at least one dose.
Many provincial health departments and private health care providers such as Kaiser, Sutter and others are already giving priority to the elderly.
The science is clear. In general, most COVID cases occur in younger people. But most deaths occur among older people.
According to data from the California Department of Public Health, 74.4% of the 41,811 people in California who died from COVID-19 were 65.4% as of Wednesday. Another 18.8% of the deaths were people aged 50 to 64 years. Only 6.7% of deaths occurred among people under 50.
Men account for 57% of all deaths nationwide. Women 43%.
But in terms of the number of cases, 70.3% of California residents who tested positive for COVID-19 are younger than 50 years. There is also division by race. Nearly half of the deaths, or 46%, were Latinos, while 32% were white, 12% Asian and 6% black.
“Three out of four COVID-19 deaths in Marin are among residents aged 75 or older,” said Dr. Matt Willis, a public health officer in Marin County, said. The population has the highest adult population per capita in any province in California. “A vaccine offered to a resident over the age of 75 is 300 times more likely to save a life than a vaccine offered to someone under the age of 50.”
In Wednesday’s announcement, the provinces of Marin, Napa, Santa Cruz and Solano said they were prioritizing residents 75 years and older.
Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara said they prioritize people 65 and older. All the provinces are doing this, in addition to the vaccination of health workers in phase 1A, many of whom have already received a first dose.
The provinces of Alameda and Sonoma have not joined the other provinces to give priority to older people.
At a news conference Wednesday to announce the opening of two major vaccination centers at the Oakland Coliseum and Cal-State Los Angeles, as part of a program announced by President Biden to build 100 federal vaccination sites, Gavin Newsom’s government noted that in the past few weeks, California and other states have begun receiving more doses.
The state vaccinated 50,000 people a day up to 150,000 a day a month ago. Biden has ordered another 200 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna. Vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and other companies are expected to be approved in the coming weeks, which will increase supply.
COVID hospitalizations have dropped by 30% in recent weeks, and the number of cases has dropped from 60,000 a day nationwide a month ago to about 10,000 a day.
“We are moving forward aggressively and I think you will see that the vaccinations continue to increase,” Newsom said. “We are aware that we need not only more from the federal government, but also more support and direct support from these manufacturers.”
Many of the problems in the vaccine supply are due to the fact that the Trump administration did not give as many doses to states as he promised, Dr. John Swartzberg, an emeritus professor of public health at UC Berkeley, said. In addition, the Trump White House did not have a national vaccine distribution plan and did not provide adequate funding for the establishment of mass centers. Biden took office 13 days ago.
“I can not blame the states or the department of health,” he said. “The blame lies with the federal government.”
Swartzberg said the California state government bears some responsibility for the slowdown. He said the level system that Gavin Newsom originally put in place was too complicated and rigid, leaving too many doses in freezers. Some medical providers also withheld doses to ensure that doctors, nurses and other medical workers had second doses available.
As of Wednesday, the number of California was improving: 64% of the doses it received were distributed.
Last month, Newsom allowed anyone over the age of 65 to move up the priority list for shots as a way to administer more vaccine.
The coming weeks should improve the situation, Swartzberg said, urging patience.
“I appreciate the frustration,” Swartzberg said. ‘I’m also frustrated. But try to retire from the situation and say ‘I can protect myself from infection. I can wear a mask, I can give up socially. I can stay home. This will ensure that you do not become infected. You can buy for your time until the system works and the vaccine is plentiful. ‘