Vaccination in California can be extended to ages 16-64 with underlying health conditions

California expands the list of people eligible for coronavirus vaccination by another 4 to 6 million people.

The health director of the state, dr. Mark Ghaly, said on Friday that people between the ages of 16 and 64, severely disabled and of people with high-risk health conditions could be in line for shots from March 15.

Among those included are people with certain cancer, heart, lung and kidney conditions, as well as pregnant women, those with Down syndrome, organ transplants and severely obese.

California has been plagued by vaccine shortages, and Ghaly has admitted he is not sure how long it will take before federal shots are needed to meet demand.

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According to the state’s memorandum, providers can use their judgment “to become individuals aged 16-64 who are considered to be at greatest risk for diseases and deaths due to COVID-19 due to a range of different medical conditions.

This represents a significant expansion of the state’s population eligible for vaccine. Currently, the qualification is limited to people aged 65 and over, health workers and residents and staff at long-term nursing homes.

This comes at a time when vaccine supply across the country is very limited. In Los Angeles County, for example, next week a majority of vaccination sites will be limited to providing second doses and not the first doses of vaccine.

Los Angeles County receives an average of about 200,000 doses of vaccine per week, which is far less than the ability of various counties in the country to vaccinate 600,000 per week, provincial health officials say.

If the admission to vaccines is extended without additional supply, officials say it will be so much harder to keep up with demand.

“We will definitely need a larger amount of vaccine,” said Dr. Paul Simon, chief scientific officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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