Millions of California residents – including those with underlying health conditions and disabilities – could be vaccinated starting Monday.
Some of those looking for the vaccine are likely to be frustrated due to the limited stock. At the same time, people are asked to follow some kind of honor system and only sign up if they really qualify.
Indeed, officials are urging California not to cheat and not to be vaccinated before others on the priority list.
“We do not feel that our front-line staff is capable of investigating and making decisions about who or who is not eligible,” said Dr. Paul Simon, chief scientific officer at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said Friday. “We urge people not to use it.”
Here are five things you need to know about the process:
1. A system of trust
The admission of the new guidance for self-declaration raises confusion about how high-risk people may qualify. Lawyers have long insisted on a process that will not create unnecessary barriers, especially for those who are less mobile or intellectually disabled.
According to the guidelines, people do not have to disclose what condition they have, just that they are eligible, Simon said.
The state guidelines for people at risk essentially trust residents to be eligible, but some officials have expressed concern that the lenient rules will be abused by people who lapse underlying conditions. People have forged documents and used access codes intended for high-risk communities.
“We certainly hope that people do not try to take advantage of the situation and will be honest about legal chronic health conditions, and / or severe disabilities,” Simon said.
Limited supplies
Adding millions of Californians to the fitness list will place additional burdens on a vaccine stock that has grown gradually but not significantly. California reserves 40% of its offerings for people in communities that are employed and 10% for teachers. And there are still many people 65 and older who are also waiting for their vaccinations.
Further tension: the state is also Monday extension of suitability to people living or working in a high-risk residential environment, such as homeless shelters and detention facilities, and to public transport and airport employees. In LA County, the entire homeless population will be eligible, regardless of shelter status.
LA is struggling with the levels of vaccine provision and is working to address issues of mobility, accessibility and equity, even if the new groups are eligible. The challenge also contributes to the fact that the allocation of the single-dose vaccine Johnson & Johnson will almost come to a standstill in the coming weeks while the company works to increase production.
3. Eligible
People aged 16 to 64 may be eligible if they are considered to have the greatest risk to get very sick from COVID-19.
The high-risk group contains ten categories: people with cancer; chronic kidney disease of stage 4 or higher; chronic lung disease; Down syndrome; affected immune system due to solid organ transplantation; pregnancy; sickle cell disease; heart disease such as heart failure, coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy (excluding hypertension); severe obesity; a type 2 diabetes mellitus.
With the population estimates for the group at about 4.4 million and with other eligible groups at about 13 million, nearly half of all Californians will now be eligible for a vaccine.
The state also contains a broader, non-specific category of “individuals who are likely to develop serious life-threatening illnesses or deaths due to COVID.” The broad language is intended to enable local healthcare providers to use their best clinical judgment to determine who is eligible for the shot, although some, including people with asthma, are questioning whether they qualify.
The state on Thursday also offered specific examples of people who are eligible for admission but who are not explicitly listed.
These include people who provide regional centers, independent residential centers, home support services, community-based adult services, Medi-Cal HIV / Aids remissions, Medi-Cal home and community-based alternative forgiveness, Medi-Cal childcare assistance programs, California child care programs, care programs the client is 16 to 21 years old, and California programs for the genetically disabled.
4. Access
Officials are urging residents to work with their healthcare providers to seek vaccinations as their first step.
“First check with your regular healthcare provider if there are vaccines and available appointments. ‘Healthcare providers who have vaccines may also begin to pronounce you as a patient with a significant high-risk medical condition or disability that the provider knows to institute your vaccination,’ the state said.
Other options include local pharmacies, local health departments, community pop-up clinics or using the My Turn website. Access details:
- Online at myturn.ca.gov. The MyTurn website is accessible to people with disabilities and in eight languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Japanese.
- Call the COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255 from 08:00 to 20:00 Monday-Friday or 08:00 to 17:00 Saturday-Sunday.
In turn, several health care groups in the region, including UCLA Health, Kaiser Permanente, Cedars-Sinai, and the LA County Community Clinic Assn., Said they would use their electronic health records to identify patients in their systems who met the clinical criteria. . and reach out directly to them.
LA County is creating limited clinics for people with underlying conditions on high-capacity sites, Simon said, and provincial sites will provide driveways and accommodation for people with disabilities.
5. Patience
The supply will be limited in the coming weeks, but things will improve.
‘At the moment we are relieved [can] start, but people will have to be patient, ”Barbara Ferrer, director of public health in LA County, said on Wednesday about the new groups.
President Biden, who expressed confidence in the offer predictions during his national speech on Thursday night, said he believed every adult can be vaccinated by the end of May.