The approval of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States is not an immediate cure for the pandemic. With the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines missing, only a select group of people can receive immunization – at least for now.
In Santa Clara County, this means that health officials should administer vaccines to people in groups at different levels based on their age, work and risk of exposure to COVID-19. On December 30, at least 300,696 people received COVID-19 vaccines in California, said Governor Gavin Newsom.
Santa Clara County received more than 94,805 COVID-19 vaccines, as well as additional doses for healthcare providers in several counties, such as Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health, on December 31.
Those who receive the vaccine are now mainly health professionals, older residents of assisted living facilities and other essential workers who cannot work at home.
The general public will likely have to wait until spring or summer to have access to vaccines.
California public health officials have divided priority groups into several phases and sub-layers.
Phase 1A
Santa Clara County health officials say they only have enough vaccines to cover the first two bullets of workers at Level 1 in the coming weeks. Non-clinical personnel at these facilities, such as hospital room cleaners, interpreters and patient transporters, should also have priority access.
If vaccines are too scarce to be provided to all workers, state health officials suggest rationing vaccines by the age of each worker, first for workers aged 65 and over, then for workers aged 55-64 and finally for workers under 55 years old.
Layer 1:
- Workers in intensive care, psychiatric and correctional hospitals
- Qualified nursing facility workers and assisted living facilities
- Elderly or clinically vulnerable residents in qualified nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and long-term care settings
- Paramedics, paramedics and others providing emergency medical services
- Dialysis center workers
Layer 2:
- Workers in intermediate care facilities for people who need non-continuous nursing supervision and supportive care
- Home health care workers and home support services
- Community health workers, including promoters, lay members of the Latin community who provide basic health education.
- Public health team
- Primary care clinics, including federally qualified health centers, rural health centers, correctional clinics and urgent care clinics
Level 3
- Specialized clinics
- Laboratory workers
- Dentistry and other oral health clinics
- Pharmacy staff does not work in higher-level environments
Phase 1B (under consideration)
The state’s community vaccine advisory committee has proposed new guidelines for those who should receive vaccines after healthcare professionals and intensive care facility residents.
These priority groups are made up of elderly people and frontline workers at risk of exposure to coronavirus because they cannot work at home in the areas most affected by COVID-19. However, people will have to wait several weeks to access these vaccines.
Layer 1:
- Anyone over 75
- Childcare and education workers
- Food and agriculture workers, including supermarket workers and field workers
Layer 2:
- Anyone over 65 with underlying health problems
- Critical transportation and manufacturing workers
- Imprisoned people
- Homeless people
Phase 1C (under consideration)
Layer 1:
- Anyone aged 16 to 64 with underlying health problems or disabilities
- Workers in water and waste management, energy, chemicals and defense
- IT and financial services workers
- Community service providers
Have a question about the COVID-19 vaccines? The e-mail [email protected] and we will get the answer.
Contact Mauricio La Plante at [email protected] or follow @mslaplantenews on Twitter.