California to expand COVID-19 vaccine pool for people with disabilities, high medical risk

From mid-March, the eligibility of the COVID-19 vaccine will be extended to people with serious health conditions and disabilities that would put them at high risk of death if they contract the virus, an expansion that coincides with California by dramatically improving the distribution of vaccine rates over the past month.

On Friday, state public health officials issued a bulletin to health professionals and doctors announcing that, from March 15, they are free to vaccinate people aged 16 to 64 “who are considered to be of greatest risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. ”The eligibility list includes the following conditions: cancer, chronic kidney and lung disease, Down syndrome, organ transplantation, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, heart disease that does not include hypertension, severe obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The bulletin also grants ample discretion to vaccinate people with disabilities that a physician considers would make them highly susceptible to a life-threatening disease or death from COVID-19, or limit their ability to obtain 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 Board of Developmental Disabilities, which serves people with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, severe epilepsy, autism and other conditions that need lifelong support. “I thank the governor and the government’s deep commitment to people with developmental disabilities and other disabilities that put them at high risk of a negative COVID result.”

This expansion marks a move towards Phase 1C of the state’s vaccination levels and marks a sharp rise in the state’s confidence in vaccinating its residents. A month ago, California ranked 41st in the country in administering available vaccines, a product of complicated distribution and tracking that led to uneven access, exacerbated by the early hesitation of health professionals to get vaccines.

Golden State now ranks 19th, with vaccine production administered by the federal government continuing to accelerate. Blue Shield and Kaiser are set to take over and streamline state allocation protocols to ensure the imminent expansion and equitable distribution of access to the vaccine to groups such as food and farm workers and people with underlying health risks.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that California administered 67% of the nearly 8 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna it received and that more than 10% of the state’s 40 million residents received at least the first dose. So far, this has mainly involved health professionals, residents over 65 and some emergency workers and teachers. But only a quarter of them were fully vaccinated.

Before Friday, about 13 million Californians were eligible to receive the vaccine. That number is expected to rise to 19 million on March 15.

The state averaged 11,320 new cases of COVID-19 a day last week, a quarter of the rate from the same point in January, which marked the height of the state’s increase in winter viruses. That improvement includes a 50% decline in the past two weeks, according to data compiled by this news organization.

Coronavirus deaths continue to occur at a rate of about 414 a day for the past week, a drop of almost 25% from two weeks ago, but still three times greater than any point before the winter wave.

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

“We saw this two or three weeks ago,” said Rutherford, pointing to a drop in deaths in nursing homes that were devastated by the virus at the beginning of the pandemic.

He also attributed the decline to declining transmissions in densely populated areas – mainly Latin neighborhoods that have borne a disproportionate load of viruses – because residents are acquiring, at great cost, natural immunity while public health officials struggle to deliver more vaccines they.

Vaccine production is gradually increasing, and by the end of this month emergency approval from the FDA is expected for a Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which is praised for requiring only one injection and not needing frozen storage like Pfizer’s two-dose treatments and Modern.

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

Still, Rutherford says the country’s progress in controlling the virus continues to improve. Mass vaccination sites, such as those being set up at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Oakland Coliseum and Moscone Center in San Francisco, and mobile vaccination units and national pharmacy chains that enter the vaccine network, are seen as signs that the devastation of COVID -19 is raging.

In an appearance on Thursday on the “Today” program, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden’s COVID-19, said broad access to vaccines could arrive as early as mid-spring.

“I imagine that when we get to April, that will be what I would call, for better writing, ‘hunting season’,” said Fauci. “That is, virtually anyone and anyone in any category can start getting vaccinated.”

But because of the offer, Fauci said, the practical impact of this broader eligibility – the herd’s immunity necessary to safely lift movement and shelter restrictions – is unlikely to be seen until mid-late summer.