In an effort to avoid wasting the COVID-19 vaccine, the state is instructing local health departments and providers to expand vaccine prioritization to community health workers, public health field staff, primary care clinics, specialist clinics, laboratory staff, dental clinics and pharmacy staff.
The state also told authorities that if a surplus remains even after all those eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine under the expanded criteria have been granted access, they must move to Level 1 of the next distribution phase, which has not yet been was officially in effect.
This group includes individuals working in education, day care, emergency services and agriculture, as well as those aged 75 and over.
The announcement comes amid slower distribution of the vaccine across the state. The slowdown has been attributed to a variety of issues, including the fact that some frontline workers have refused the vaccine and the state does not have a regulated plan when it comes to remaining doses.
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom said the distribution rules would be relaxed to prevent the vaccine from going to waste.
“We want to see 100% of what is received immediately administered in the arms of people, and that is a challenge,” he said during a briefing. “It is a challenge across the country – it is a challenge, in that sense, across the rest of the world. But this is not an excuse ”.
Last month, the state health department released guidance that such doses of vaccine may be offered to people in lower priority groups when demand decreases and doses are about to expire.
“Health departments can temporarily adjust prioritization based on other resource constraints while continuing efforts to immunize higher-priority groups as soon as possible,” say the guidelines.
So far, one total of 586,379 vaccine doses were administered throughout the state. AN total of 2,052,025 doses, which includes the first and second doses, were sent to local health departments and facilities, said the CDPH.