As of March 15, two groups of younger, high-risk Californians – people with disabilities and people with serious underlying illnesses – could be vaccinated against the coronavirus, California officials said on Friday.
These groups include 4 to 6 million people, said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. This is expected to bring the number of Californians eligible for vaccines from 17 to 19 million by March 15.
The underlying conditions that will result in vaccine eligibility on March 15 include cancer, chronic kidney disease at stage four or higher, chronic lung disease, Down syndrome, weakened immune system by a solid organ transplant, sickle cell disease, pregnancy, heart problems , severe obesity – defined as a body mass index of 40 years or more – and type 2 diabetes.
People will have to show some verification of their condition, but the authorities are still determining what exactly this will entail.
“I think it’s great, it’s an appropriate group to get in line,” said Dr. George Rutherford, from UCSF.
Age is an important risk factor in the development of severe COVID-19 disease or death, but it is not the only one. Adults of any age with these underlying conditions are at increased risk of serious illness, according to the CDC.
“I want the disabled community to know, we listen to you and we will do more and better to provide access, even with scarcity,” said Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, when he visited the mass vaccination center in San Centro Moscone de Francisco .
Ghaly said the reason the two new eligible groups are not getting access immediately is because there is still a very limited supply of vaccine and because it will take some time to work out the details of how the medical condition check will work. There is no longer enough vaccine coming into the state to immunize all currently eligible under state guidelines – about 13 million health workers, residents and asylum workers, people aged 65 and over, and education, food and health workers. agriculture and emergency services sectors. Some counties are not even vaccinating all eligible groups due to supply restrictions.
“I am grateful that they are committed to a deadline and if they are estimating the number to be so large (4 to 6 million more), that is a good sign,” said Andrew Imparato, who serves as a state committee and vaccine consultant. is executive director of Disability Rights California.
However, Imparato questioned the decision to wait until March 15.
“If we can move that date forward as vaccine supplies increase, that would be my preference,” he said. “But today’s announcement is a big step up from where the state was on February 2.”
As of Friday, about 5.5 million doses of the vaccine have been administered to Californians, a number that includes the first and second doses, according to state data. Both vaccines currently available in the United States, by Pfizer and Moderna, require two vaccines, three or four weeks apart.
Newsom also said that the state will release demographic data for vaccinations across the state for the first time on Friday.
“It will show what we have been predicting for some time: that with the first allocation of vaccines going predominantly to health professionals, this is not truly representative of the state’s demographics,” said Newsom. “As a state, we have work to do to do more and better to reach our diverse communities.”
At least four Bay Area counties have released vaccination demographic data in recent weeks – Contra Costa, San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Clara. Local data show that, so far, white and Asian residents are being vaccinated in significantly greater numbers than black and Latino residents. Part of that is because the groups that have been vaccinated so far – health workers, residents and nursing home staff and people 65 and older – are disproportionately white and Asian, local health officials said.
Community officials and advocates are working to make vaccines more accessible to people in the regions most affected by the virus, which tend to be low-income neighborhoods. San Francisco, for example, recently opened two vaccination clinics for residents in five zip codes in the southeastern part of the city.
Rickey Fairley, a 67-year-old black man who lives in the Bayview-Hunters Point area and works as a security guard at the Young Museum, said he called his doctor a few months ago to find out more about how to get the vaccine. But he never had an answer.
“Nobody knew what to do,” said Fairley, looking exasperated.
Then, Friday morning, the day before his 68th birthday, Fairley unexpectedly received an email saying that he could come get a free vaccination, without insurance, just a few blocks from his home.
He said he “jumped out of bed” and ran to the Southeast Health Center, where tents were placed outside and ropes snaked around the block. Fairley was vaccinated shortly thereafter, calling him “a blessing”.
“I feel so much better. I’m still going to wear my mask, but I feel a little more comfortable, ”he said. “I am very happy to be vaccinated.”
Chronicle Nanette Asimov team writers Meghan Bobrowsky and Michael Williams contributed to this report.
Catherine Ho is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Cat_Ho