As there are still not enough vaccine doses to meet demand, a coalition of Bay Area health officials on Wednesday called on all health systems to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines for people aged 65 and over – a group that dies at higher rates by far during the pandemic – and move some essential workers further down the list.
“We need to be direct and honest with the public that, while we want to vaccinate everyone, at the moment we just don’t have enough vaccine for that,” said Dr. Sara Cody, health officer and public director of Santa Clara County health. “Given the limited supply of vaccine, we must prioritize vaccination for those most at risk of death or serious illness.”
Recent changes in state rules have changed the list of priorities, with doctors, nurses and nursing home patients in the first group eligible to be vaccinated, called Phase 1A, and people aged 65 and over in the second group, which is called the Phase 1B. Also in this second group, however, are “essential workers” of all ages, including teachers, police firefighters, paramedics, daycare centers, agricultural workers and transport workers, along with Californians living in nearby outbreak-prone neighborhoods, as residents. and prisoners.
Across the state, there are 3 million people in the Phase 1A group and an additional 8.5 million in the Phase 1B group.
Health care providers and political leaders are under heavy pressure from unions and other groups representing various occupations, and receiving thousands of calls from members of the public now wanting their vaccines. But California received just 1 million doses of the vaccine this week from the federal government. On Wednesday, 3.8 million Californians received at least one dose.
Many county health departments and private health providers like Kaiser, Sutter and others are already prioritizing older people.
The science is clear. Across the state, most cases of COVID are happening in younger people. But most deaths occur among older people.
On Wednesday, 74.4% of the 41,811 people who died of COVID-19 in California were 65 or older, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. Another 18.8% of deaths were from people aged 50 to 64 years. Only 6.7% of deaths occurred in people under the age of 50.
Men account for 57% of all deaths across the state. Women 43%.
But when it comes to the number of cases, 70.3% of Californians who test positive for COVID-19 are under 50. There is also discrimination by race. Almost half of the deaths, or 46%, were Latino, while 32% were white, 12% were Asian and 6% were black.
“Three out of four COVID-19 deaths in Marin occur among residents aged 75 and over,” said Dr. Matt Willis, public health officer in Marin County, who has the largest population of elderly adults per capita of any California county. “A vaccine offered to a resident over 75 is 300 times more likely to save a life than a vaccine offered to someone under 50.”
In Wednesday’s announcement, Marin, Napa, Santa Cruz and Solano counties said they are prioritizing residents 75 and older.
Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties said they are prioritizing people aged 65 and over. All counties are doing this, in addition to continuing to vaccinate health workers in Phase 1A, many of whom have already received the first dose.
Alameda and Sonoma counties have not joined other counties in calling for seniors to be given priority.
At a news conference on 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 began to receive more doses.
The state has gone from 50,000 vaccines 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 the supply.
COVID hospitalizations have dropped by 30% in the past few weeks, and the number of cases has dropped from 60,000 a day across the state a month ago to about 10,000 a day now.
“We are advancing aggressively and I think you will see these vaccination numbers continue to rise,” said Newsom. “We are aware that we need to get more support and supply not only from the federal administration, but more support and supply directly from these manufacturers.”
Many of the problems in delivering the vaccine are due to the fact that the Trump administration does not provide states with as many doses as it promised, said Dr. John Swartzberg, professor emeritus of public health at UC Berkeley. Add to that, the Trump White House did not have a national vaccine distribution plan and did not give states sufficient funding to establish mass vaccination centers. Biden took office 13 days ago.
“I can’t blame the states or the county’s health departments,” he said. “The blame goes to the federal government.”
Swartzberg said the California state government has some responsibility for the slowdown. He said the layer system that Governor Gavin Newsom originally implemented was very complicated and rigid, leaving many doses in freezers. Some medical service providers have also suspended doses to ensure that doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have a second dose available.
On Wednesday, California’s number was improving: 64% of the doses it received were distributed.
Last month, Newsom allowed anyone 65 and older to move up the vaccine priority list as a way to get more vaccines administered.
In the coming weeks, the situation should improve, said Swartzberg, asking for patience.
“I appreciate the frustration,” said Swartzberg. “I am also frustrated. But try to get away from the situation and say ‘I can protect myself from being infected. I can wear a mask, I can distance myself socially. I can stay at home. ‘This will ensure that you will not be infected. You can buy time until the system is working and the vaccine is abundant. “