Vaccine eligibility opening to nearly all
People 50 and older can get shots Thursday, those 16 and older can begin after April 15
People age 50 and older will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations April 1 and anyone age 16 and older will be allowed to get them on April 15, under expanded coronavirus vaccination rules announced Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The pool will be expanded even more in some counties. Newsom said as of Thursday, health officials in the hardest hit communities have the freedom to immediately give vaccines to anyone who comes into a clinic with a family member who qualifies for a shot.
“There is not just light at the end of the tunnel, there is bright light,” Newsom said during the news conference at a vaccination site at AltaMed Medical Group in Santa Ana.
Under this expansion, Newsom said, he will be eligible to get his shot next week.
“I look forward to getting the best shot,” he said. “And the best vaccine is the next one
available.”
Of course, just because the state said these age groups will soon be eligible for vaccines doesn’t mean everyone will be able to immediately get appointments in coming weeks. As with each previous expansion of vaccine eligibility, it will be up to county and city health agencies and health care providers to actually broaden vaccination rollout.
In Riverside County, spokesman Shane Reichardt said residents can start signing up for appointments under these guidelines as soon as they become available. The county expects to release appointments for next week through its website today, so anyone 50 and older who still needs a shot can sign up for any open appointment on or after Thursday.
“Our goal is to implement on the timelines that are spelled out by the governor,” Reichardt said. “As long as the supply remains
on a positive trajectory, we anticipate we will be able to continue providing vaccinations on a regular basis.”
Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that it is not letting people schedule appointments in advance of those new eligibility dates. But the health care group said it’s looking forward to increasing the more than 400,000 vaccine doses it’s giving out every week in California as supply becomes available.
Based on supply projections at the time, Newsom’s team earlier this month was predicting vaccines would open to all adults on May 1. But since then, he said they’ve gotten good news on the supply front from suppliers and federal officials.
“We were given assurance publicly and privately around (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines that are more promising than what we understood just a few weeks ago,” Newsom said Thursday. “That was reinforced on a call with governors by the Biden administration.”
California gave out 2.5 million vaccine doses last week. By the end of next month, Newsom said they’ll
be able to administer 4 million doses a week.
“Our ability to do more has always been constrained by supply, manufacturing supply,” Newsom said. “We have confidence now of the manufacturing supply becoming available sooner than we anticipated.”
While the new guidelines include age requirements, state officials said that just as with current eligibility based on health conditions, they will be relying on people’s honesty rather than proof of eligibility. So that means undocumented immigrants or others who may not have identification to prove their age can still book appointments as soon as they’re eligible without fear of being turned away. Nobody is to be turned away based on residency status.
When asked if he has any regrets about how he handled pandemic response, Newsom said that, to date, the state has issued vaccines to about 15 million people, more than “all but five other nations.” He also touted California’s low death rate and studies
that indicate the state is on pace for a speedy economic recovery.
“We’re all geniuses, not just experts, in hindsight,” he said.
But he also said his team is constantly evaluating their decisions, and said “humility” is the word of the year. He noted that Germany and Italy are having to institute new lockdowns now while California is continuing to open up.
Two proponents of recalling the governor stood outside the Santa Ana clinic with signs and bullhorns, yelling that they want Newsom out due to his handling of the pandemic. They said they weren’t “White supremacists,” citing Latino support for the recall.
Just moments before, in response to a question, Newsom had reiterated comments about how one founder of the recall effort had shared a social media post that called for tagging undocumented immigrants like animals. He also said his support for California immigrants was a main reason why his opponents filed the recall a month before the pandemic hit the
state.
Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento, who the governor credited with helping to drive awareness about how the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted Latinos, gave a nod to the recall controversy as he introduced Newsom.
“Governor, you’ve had our back here in Santa Ana,” Sarmiento said. “We promise to have yours.”
All California residents can use the state’s MyTurn website to find out if they’re eligible for a vaccine and where they can get vaccinated.