CA Vaccine: Priority Shifts To Age, Revamps Delivery System

CALIFORNIA — The Golden State again revised its vaccine plan Tuesday, reflecting Gov. Gavin Newsom's Monday announcement that the state would transition to prioritize age for coronavirus vaccine eligibility.

After the state finishes inoculating its most prioritized candidates in Phases 1a and 1b Tier 2 — health care workers, those 65 and older, first responders, teachers, child care staff, food workers and agriculture workers — the state will transition to an age-based vaccine prioritization system, Newsom said.

This means that workers in Phase 1b Tier 2, who were originally slated to be vaccinated next, may have to wait a little longer. Next in line could be those 50 and older — a huge revision to the vaccine rollout. Earlier this month, it was projected that those over 65 would not be vaccinated until midsummer.

It appears that supply challenges are largely to blame for the constant reshuffling of the vaccine line and a need to prioritize those most at risk as supplies get scarce.

"Certainly, at this moment of scarcity our focus is to ensure that we have that balance between risk and exposure," Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's health secretary, said on Tuesday, adding that the state will prioritize those most vulnerable "as early as we can, especially with the supply challenges that we have."

Currently, it remains to be seen when those identified in Phase 1b Tier 2 will be vaccinated — workers in transportation agencies, critical manufacturing, industrial, commercial, residential and sheltering services, followed by some homeless and incarcerated people.

Some of these workers have expressed frustration that their turn could be delayed, arguing that their consistent exposure working with the public was a high-risk factor.

"I do think that younger individuals who are in professions or in situations where they aren’t nearly as exposed as some of the other high-exposed industries will end up waiting a little longer than others who have a high risk or high exposures to COVID risk factors," he said.

It was also unclear whether there would be another bracket prioritizing those 50 and older with underlying health conditions.

Beginning in mid-February, health care workers and groups in Phase 1b Tier 1 will be able to make an appointment to receive the vaccine, depending on vaccine availability. After that, "future groups will become eligible based on age," state officials announced Tuesday.

Prioritizing age, Newsom said, "will allow us to scale up much more quickly and get vaccines to impacted communities much more expeditiously with a framework always on equity."

Although details were scarce on how the restructured rollout would prioritize equity, a Tuesday statement said, "Vaccines will be allocated to make sure low-income neighborhoods and communities of color have access to vaccines, and providers will be compensated in part by how well they are able to reach underserved communities. Real-time data will allow for adjustments to be made if initial equity targets are not met."

Regardless of Newsom's announcements or any changes made to state documents, supply and the speed of the rollout will determine how quickly these tiers and phases are completed.

Each of California's 58 counties is moving through the state's tiers at its own pace, and many are still working to vaccinate those 65 and older, a group that has experienced a variety of obstacles in making appointments in different counties across the state.

Newsom acknowledged that the state, which has experienced several roadblocks in its sluggish vaccine rollout, needs to ramp up the rollout.

"We recognize [the framework] has advantages, and it has disadvantages as it relates to speed and efficiency,” Newsom said on Monday.

To address this, Newsom named Yolanda Richardson secretary of the government operations agency on Tuesday. The state said it will revamp its delivery system with Richardson at the wheel.

She is slated to help streamline vaccine operations and delivery by working with third-party administrators to determine where the vaccine will go, the state said Tuesday.

“This collaboration between Secretaries Ghaly and Richardson continues our approach to lead with public health and add Secretary Richardson’s expertise in operations and with the health care delivery system which will be pivotal in implementing these improvements to get all Californians vaccinated safely and swiftly, with equity as our North Star,” Newsom said in a Tuesday statement.

Ghaly announced Tuesday that the state had tripled its pace in administering the vaccine and said that 125,000 were now being vaccinated each weekday.

So far, the state has administered 2,437,504 doses, and another 4,564,425 doses had been shipped to California as of Tuesday. "It's no small feat to get 2.5 million Californians vaccinated in seven weeks," Ghaly said.

The state also introduced MyTurn this week, a state-run pilot website that encourages Californians to sign up to receive notifications when it's their turn to get vaccinated.

The site, which launched Tuesday, is only available to San Diego and Los Angeles County residents but will eventually go statewide.

This article originally appeared on the Across California Patch