California will expand the COVID-19 vaccine group to people at high medical risk with disabilities

Starting in mid-March, eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine will be extended to people with severe health conditions and disabilities that would put them at high risk of death if they contracted the virus, an expansion that coincides with a sudden improvement in vaccine distribution. by California. installments in the last month.

State officials in the field of public health issued a bulletin to health care providers and doctors on Friday, announcing that as of March 15, they are free to vaccinate people between the ages of 16 and 64 “who are considered to be at least increased risk of morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19. “The list of eligibility includes these conditions: cancer, chronic kidney and lung disease, Down syndrome, organ transplantation, pregnancy, sickle, heart disease that does not include hypertension, severe obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The bulletin also gives wide discretion to vaccinate people with disabilities that a physician believes would make them extremely susceptible to a life-threatening or life-threatening disease due to COVID-19 or limit their ability. to receive medical or other ongoing care “vital to their well-being and survival. Officials added that these criteria are “subject to change.”

“I’m excited,” said Aaron Carruthers, executive director of the California State Council for Developmental Disabilities, which serves people with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, severe epilepsy, autism and other conditions that need a life of support. “I appreciate the Governor’s and the administration’s deep commitment to people with developmental and other disabilities that put them at high risk for an unpleasant outcome of COVID.”

This expansion marks a move in phase 1C of state vaccination levels and marks a sharp rise in state confidence in vaccinating its residents. One month ago, California was ranked 41st in the country in the administration of handy vaccines, a complicated distribution and tracking product that led to uneven access, exacerbated by the early reluctance of health care workers to obtain vaccines.

Golden State is now ranked 19th, with federal-administered vaccine production continuing to accelerate. Blue Shield and Kaiser are ready to take over and streamline state allocation protocols to ensure the imminent expansion and equitable distribution of access to vaccines to groups such as food, agricultural workers and people with underlying health risks.

As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that California administered 67 percent of the nearly 8 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna it received and that more than 10 percent of the state’s 40 million people received the most. at least a first dose. . To date, this has primarily involved health workers, residents over the age of 65 and some emergency workers and teachers. But only a quarter of them were completely vaccinated.

By Friday, about 13 million Californians were eligible for the vaccine. It will increase to 19 million on March 15.

The state had an average of 11,320 new cases of COVID-19 per day in the last week, a quarter of the rate at the same point in January, marking the height of the state’s winter virus growth. This improvement includes a 50% decrease in the last two weeks, according to data compiled by this news organization.

Coronavirus deaths continue to occur at a rate of about 414 per day in the last week, down almost 25% from two weeks ago, but still three times higher than any point before the winter wave.

Dr. George Rutherford, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UC San Francisco, said declining rates and deaths can be explained in part by vaccinations.

“We’ve already seen it two or three weeks ago,” Rutherford said, pointing to a drop in deaths in nursing homes that were devastated by the virus at the start of the pandemic.

He also attributed the decline in declining transmissions in densely populated areas – mainly in Latin American neighborhoods that have borne a disproportionate burden of the virus – as residents acquire natural immunity at high cost, while public health officials struggles to drive more vaccines to them.

Vaccine production is on the rise and, by the end of this month, FDA emergency approval for a Johnson and Johnson vaccine is anticipated, which is appreciated for the need for a single shot and for not needing frozen storage, such as treatments with two doses Pfizer and Moderna.

But the demands of a population of over 300 million continue to diminish supply. The CDC reported on Friday morning that just over 69 million doses of the vaccine had been distributed in the country and that about 36 million Americans had received at least one first dose. Only a third of them were completely vaccinated.

However, Rutherford says the trajectory of the country’s progress in controlling the virus continues to improve. Mass vaccination sites, such as those set up at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Oakland Coliseum and Moscone Center in San Francisco, as well as mobile vaccination units and national pharmacy chains entering the vaccine network, are seen as indicators that shows that the devastation of COVID -19 has increased.

In an appearance on Thursday’s “Today” show, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief adviser to COVID-19, said broad access to vaccines could reach mid-spring immediately.

“I would imagine that by the time we get to April, I would call it, for a better wording, ‘open season,'” Fauci said. “Namely, practically everyone and anyone in any category could start getting vaccinated.”

But because of supply, Fauci said, the practical impact of this broader eligibility – the herd’s immunity needed to safely lift traffic and shelter restrictions – is unlikely to be seen until late summer.