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According to the new state guidelines, people aged 16 to 64 with chronic high-risk diseases and disabilities will join older Californians, food workers and educators. But not until March 15th.
Californians with high-risk medical conditions will qualify for the COVID-19 vaccines starting March 15, the state health secretary announced today.
According to previous state guidelines, people with chronic conditions did not qualify for vaccination until people aged 65 and over, first responders, food industry workers and educators were vaccinated.
According to the new guidelines, people aged 16 to 64 with serious health problems – such as heart, lung or kidney disease, diabetes, cancer and weakened immune systems – or with disabilities will join older Californians and some workers essentials from 15 March.
State officials estimate that this group could reach 4 and 6 million people, bringing the total number of Californians eligible for the vaccine next month to between 17 and 19 million.
The move is “consistent with our response focused on saving lives, focused on promoting equity and, of course, getting to the other side of the pandemic,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of health and human services, at a news conference. press today.
Ghaly said delaying him for a month will allow the state to increase its supply of vaccines, develop ways to determine eligibility and find out how to reach people who are stuck.
Disability advocates have had mixed reactions to changes in state priorities.
“The explicit inclusion of people with high-risk disabilities is a welcome change in the government’s position, but the gradual recognition of people with high-risk health conditions, the failure to recognize the high exposure and health risks of beneficiaries of the Medi-Cal who need a home and community services in their homes and the inexplicable delay until March 15 are disappointing for everyone, and will be fatal for some people with disabilities, ”said Silvia Yee, senior lawyer for the Education and Defense Fund for Rights of the Disabled.
Supporters criticized Governor Gavin Newsom for not prioritizing some of California’s most vulnerable residents, saying he was sacrificing equity in exchange for speed.
The shift comes as California accelerates its previously slow pace of immunizations with COVID-19. More than 5.5 million doses have been administered to date, more than any other state. Although California once ranked last among all states in its immunization rates, it now ranks 21st, according to federal data.
New eligible groups can be immunized by their medical provider or at mass vaccination clinics, if their health permits, said Ghaly. Doctors will be free to vaccinate high-risk people who do not fall into the categories established by state officials.
Until last month, California included people with disabilities or medical conditions in the same priority group as Californians aged 65 to 74. They were listed on the level just behind people aged 75 and over. But then the state started to prioritize vaccinations mainly by age, targeting those aged 65 and over. This meant that clinically vulnerable people were left behind.
State officials listed the harsh conditions in a statement to providers, including:
- Cancer, current with weakened or immunocompromised status
- Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or higher
- Oxygen-dependent chronic lung disease
- Down’s syndrome
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) of solid organ transplant
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell anemia
- Heart problems, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies (excludes hypertension)
- Severe obesity (body mass index ≥ 40 kg / m2)
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus with hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5%
The Federal Centers for Disease Control recommend that people with underlying diseases receive the vaccine along with those aged 65 to 74 years. But states can adjust these priorities.
Other states vary in how they prioritize people with health problems.
New York will begin vaccinating people with high-risk illnesses, including pregnancy and developmental disabilities, on Monday. Florida currently vaccinates people considered by hospital providers to be “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19, along with people aged 65 and over. In contrast, Kansas placed people under the age of 65 in high-risk conditions behind people aged 65 and over, prisoners and those living in “congregated settings” that are not nursing homes.
The coverage, translation and distribution of CalMatters COVID-19 are supported by generous donations from the Blue Shield of California Foundation, the California Wellness Foundation and the California Health Care Foundation.