Kaiser in California to Receive More COVID-19 Vaccines

After weeks of lag in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines to the elderly, Kaiser Permanente wants to make some ground this week.

Kaiser CEO Greg Adams announced late Saturday that California officials have increased the allocation of the healthcare giant vaccine to more accurately align its larger share of the state’s healthcare market.

As a result, Kaiser began planning appointments in a few weeks and finally began offering vaccines to members 65 and older.

“This will make it easier for you to make an appointment and plan ahead for your vaccination,” Adams said in the statement.

California divides its vaccine supply each week among 58 counties in California and nine health networks, including Kaiser Permanente. But Kaiser officials have been complaining for weeks that they are receiving an excessively small amount of vaccines.

In a statement last month, Adams said Kaiser, who serves nearly a quarter of Californians, receives about 40,000 doses a week, but that he administers more than 200,000. The company’s only restriction, he said, was the availability of and access to the vaccine.

Following a plea for the state to increase its vaccine supply, Kaiser is scheduled this week to receive 20% of California’s vaccine supply and increase its ability to deliver more than 600,000 doses of vaccine per week in California, according to a company statement. .

Unlike Sutter Health and UCSF Health, which have been giving vaccinations to people over the age of 65 for weeks, Kaiser is only now starting appointments for members between the ages of 65 and 75.

Kaiser is initially reaching out to people over 65 and at greatest risk for exposure or complications of COVID-19 due to factors such as underlying medical conditions and high-risk occupations.

Kaiser members still cannot email or call the company to make an appointment, but must wait until the healthcare provider contacts them and notifies them that they are eligible for a vaccine appointment.

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