In another milestone in the race to arm California against COVID-19, all residents 16 and older can now be eligible for vaccination.
The move, an important moment in California’s long-running battle against the pandemic, removes the last remaining obstacle to widespread adults’ access to the precious doses.
As Gavin Newsom put it, April 15 is not a tax day in California, it’s wax day ‘.
“We look forward to getting more vaccines in more arms for one fundamental reason: it saves lives,” he told a news conference on Thursday. ‘These vaccines are safe. These vaccines are effective. These vaccines will get our children back to school safely. These vaccines will quickly and safely move our economy back in a sustainable way, and get our small business back on track. ‘
Now the countdown is to June 15 – the target set by the state to fully reopen its economy. But when they arrive, officials say, many more Californians will have to be vaccinated against the disease.
This effort was apparently dealt a blow this week when the state stopped using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on the recommendation of federal health agencies, but California officials say it is not expected to have a major impact in the next few days. .
But even as vaccines become more widely available, health officials stress that COVID-19 remains a dangerous and deadly disease, and that residents must continue to take steps to keep themselves, their families and their neighbors safe until more people can be vaccinated.
“We are undoubtedly in the fourth quarter, but this game is not over yet,” Newsom said. “And we can not pickle the ball … and we certainly can not ‘fulfill’ demand. ‘
Here’s what you need to know:
Register
Officials on Wednesday night unveiled a new version of the My Turn appointment system that reflects the extended qualification and is adding language support in Arabic and Persian for the first time.
People can also make appointments by calling (833) 422-4255. Support is offered for more than 200 languages. The hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
In Los Angeles County, people with disabilities or without computer access are encouraged to call (833) 540-0473 between 8 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., Monday through Sunday.
My Turn officials said that the online system can handle up to 300,000 transactions per hour, and that they expect it to be able to handle the demand.
All vaccines are free to anyone living in the US, regardless of immigration or health insurance status.
What to expect
Authorities recommend the residents’ patience to be patient, and suggest that it take a while before anyone who wants a vaccine gets one.
My Turn is intended as a gateway to find and plan appointments, but sometimes not all available appointments appear in the system.
Alternative ways to book appointments include healthcare providers, such as Kaiser, and pharmacies that offer vaccinations, such as CVS, Ralphs, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Costco, en Albertsons / Vons / Safeway / Pavilions.
Some of the vaccine providers also started making appointments on Wednesday night for those who are newly eligible.
The city of Los Angeles has a separate vaccine portal, operated by Carbon Health, which is not integrated in the My Turn system.
California makes progress
Nearly 24 million doses were administered throughout the state and 22% of the population were fully vaccinated.
Nationwide, 37.3% of Americans received at least one dose, and 23.1% were fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are making progress. We are going to defeat this disease. We are going to end this pandemic, “said Newsom. “There’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to work.”
A number of people in California’s newly qualified age group have been given at least one chance because of their place of residence, their occupation, or underlying health conditions.
In LA County, where nearly 2 million residents are fully vaccinated, approximately 1.5 million residents aged 16 to 49 years receive at least one dose. This is more than a third of the subset.
A major concern was early on that poorer communities that were less subordinate received far less vaccine than prosperous ones.
But a new Times data analysis found that Los Angeles County has made significant progress in administering COVID-19 vaccines in communities of color most affected by the pandemic, although these areas are still far behind richer neighborhoods and the country as a whole.
Some neighborhoods in South Los Angeles – where the spread of the coronavirus was particularly devastating – saw the largest increase in the number of residents receiving at least one dose between March 1 and Monday. Other areas that have experienced major improvement include Thai Town in Hollywood, Lennox and Cudahy.
Despite the gains, these areas still see the vaccination rates below the country average.
In each of the ten communities that have achieved the greatest relative gain in the last six weeks, the proportion of the population aged 16 and older who have received at least one vaccine dose remains below 30%. By comparison, 37.1% of LA County residents 16 and older received at least one vaccine dose as of April 4th. According to public health data.
“Let us watch. Let’s take this moment seriously, “said Newsom. ‘This is an exciting and proud day, because now we have lifted the burden and anxiety around age and conditions and used every Californian 16 and older to get these vaccines. But now, the hard work is in each of you to reveal that ideal – to bring us to June 15, to get past this pandemic and get back to a sense of normalcy. ‘
J&J break is not an obstacle – for now
Although California is currently administering doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, while federal health officials are investigating reports of six serious blood clots nationwide, state officials said they do not expect interruption to throw a big key in the vaccination campaign. at least for now.
The state epidemiologist dr. Erica Pan, said less than 4% of California’s vaccine system this week from the federal government – 67,600 out of about 2 million doses – comes from Johnson & Johnson. The vast majority of doses come from the other available vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
Newsom characterized the Johnson & Johnson break as a ‘temporary setback’, but said California expects increasing supplies from Pfizer and Moderna to fill the gap.
He also pointed out that there are a number of supply streams flowing to the state. In addition to the California immediate grant, which is expected to be about 1.9 million total doses this week, Newsom said he expects up to 1.5 million more doses to be delivered to other vaccination sites directly supported by the federal government. such as qualified health clinics and pharmacies.
“From my perspective, I do not care where you get it; I just want you to get it, ”he said. ‘I do not care how you get it; I just want you to get it safe. ‘
Of the 19,600 Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointments scheduled for Los Angeles County this week, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said about 13,670 were booked for Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna appointments.
However, the disruption affected several mobile teams across the country, regularly vaccinating people during a one-day event. The single-shot dose was key to the state’s distribution strategy to reach communities hardest hit by COVID-19, as well as residents who are reluctant, less mobile or disabled.
The break in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was recommended because federal officials are investigating six cases involving women aged 18 to 48, who developed a rare blood clot between six and 13 days after receiving the vaccine. One death has been reported.
The version of the reported blood clots is particularly rare – it not only involves a blood clot that prevents blood from draining from the brain, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, but it occurs in combination with low-level platelets, known as thrombocytopenia. . The reports are similar to rare reports of blood clots seen in Europe after vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was not approved in the US.
Of the more than 194 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered nationally, 7.5 million are from the Johnson & Johnson shot. More than 100 million doses of Pfizer and 86 million doses of Moderna have been administered.
Johnson & Johnson is a single-vaccine vaccine. Both Pfizer and Moderna require two doses, which are administered weeks apart.