As there are still not enough doses of vaccine to meet demand, a coalition of Bay Area health officials on Wednesday called on all health systems to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines for people 65 and older – a group who die in the distance with the highest rates during the pandemic – and move some key workers down the list.
“We need to be direct and honest with the public that even though we want to vaccinate everyone, right now we don’t have enough vaccine to do that,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County health officer and public health director. . “Given the limited number of vaccines, we must give priority to vaccinating those most at risk of death or serious illness.”
Recent changes to the state rules have changed the list of priorities, with doctors, nurses and patients in nursing homes in the first group eligible for vaccination, called Phase 1A, and people aged 65 and over in the second group, which is called Phase 1B. However, that second group includes “essential workers” of all ages, including teachers, police firefighters, paramedics, child care workers, farm workers and transportation workers, along with Californians living in nearby areas, prone to outbreaks, such as homeless people and detainees.
At the state level, there are 3 million people in phase 1A and another 8.5 million in phase 1B.
Healthcare providers and political leaders are under strong pressure from unions and other occupational groups and are receiving thousands of calls from members of the public who want to be shot now. But California received just 1 million doses of the vaccine this week from the federal government. As of Wednesday, 3.8 million Californians have received at least one dose.
Many county health departments and private health care providers such as Kaiser, Sutter and others are already giving priority to the elderly.
The science is clear. At the national level, most cases of COVID occur in younger people. But most deaths occur among the elderly.
As of Wednesday, 74.4% of the 41,811 people in California who died from COVID-19 were 65 years of age and older, according to the California Department of Public Health. Another 18.8% of deaths were between the ages of 50 and 64. Only 6.7% of deaths occurred in people under 50 years of age.
Men account for 57% of all deaths at the state level. 43% women.
But when it comes to the number of cases, 70.3% of Californians who tested positive for COVID-19 are under 50 years old. There are also racial breakdowns. Almost half of the deaths, or 46%, were Latin American, while 32% were white, 12% were Asian and 6% were black.
“Three out of four COVID-19 deaths in Marin are residents aged 75 or older,” said Dr. Matt Willis, a public health officer for Marin County, who has the largest adult population per capita. resident of any county in California. “A vaccine given to a resident over the age of 75 is 300 times more likely to save a life than a vaccine given to someone under the age of 50.”
In Wednesday’s announcement, Marin, Napa, Santa Cruz and Solano counties said they give priority to residents over the age of 75.
Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties said they give priority to people 65 and older. All counties are doing this, in addition to continuing to vaccinate health care workers in Phase 1A, many of whom have already received a first dose.
Alameda and Sonoma counties did not join the other counties in requesting the prioritization of the elderly.
At a news conference Wednesday to announce the opening of two major vaccination sites at Oakland Coliseum and Cal-State Los Angeles as part of a program announced by President Biden to build 100 federal vaccination sites, Governor Gavin Newsom noted that in the past few weeks, California and other states have begun receiving more doses.
The state has gone from vaccinating 50,000 people a day a month ago to 150,000 a day now. Biden ordered another 200 million doses from Pfizer and Moderna. Vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and other companies are expected to be approved in the coming weeks, increasing supply.
COVID hospitalizations have dropped by 30% in recent weeks, and the number of cases has dropped from 60,000 a day nationwide a month ago to about 10,000 a day now.
“We are moving forward aggressively and I think you will see these vaccination numbers continue to rise,” Newsom said. “We are aware that we need to get more support and supply not only from the federal government, but more support and supply directly from these manufacturers.”
Many of the problems with the supply of vaccines were due to the fact that the Trump administration did not offer the states as many doses as it had promised, said Dr. John Swartzberg, professor emeritus of public health at UC Berkeley. In addition, Trump’s White House did not have a national vaccine distribution plan and did not provide the states with sufficient funds to set up mass vaccination centers. Biden took over 13 days ago.
“I can’t blame the states or the county health departments,” he said. “It’s the federal government’s fault.”
Swartzberg said the California state government has some responsibility for the slowdown. He said the level system that Governor Gavin Newsom initially launched was too complicated and rigid, leaving too many doses in the freezers. Some health care providers have also withheld doses to ensure that doctors, nurses and other health care workers will have a second dose available.
As of Wednesday, California’s numbers were improving: 64% of the doses it received were distributed.
Last month, Newsom allowed anyone over the age of 65 to be moved to the photo priority list as a way to get more vaccine.
In the coming weeks, the situation should improve, Swartzberg said, demanding patience.
“I appreciate the frustration,” Swartzberg said. “I am just frustrated. But try to move away from the situation and say “I can protect myself against infection. I can wear a mask, I can distance myself socially. I can stay home. This will almost certainly ensure that you will not become infected. You can gain time until the system works and the vaccine is plentiful. ”