Vaccinations For General Public In California Expected By Mid-Spring 2021
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - California has only administered about a third of the COVID-19 vaccines in its possession - leaving many wondering when it will be their turn.
Helen Cordova, an ICU nurse at Kaiser Sunset, was one of the first to get the COVID vaccine and received her second dose Monday.
"I think for me personally it's just this renewed sense of hope and knowing that my body is developing this immunity and I will be able to protect myself, and my family," she said.
The governor announced that the state has 1.2 million doses of the vaccine, with another 611,000 arriving this week. But to date, only about 450,000 doses have been administered.
Dr. Oliver Brooks sits on the state's vaccine advisory committee and helps make the rules for vaccine distribution.
"I am guessing that the general public will be ready to get vaccinated by early to mid-spring, April," he said.
Brooks says the state expected to have 2 million vaccines by the end of December and another 2 million by the end of this month and a total of 12.5 million by the middle of spring- which isn't likely to happen.
And for the delay in getting people vaccinated?
"We did not expect to have to roll out a vaccine during a surge where there are no hospital beds and everyone is scrambling," said Brooks. "I think the other part is that these hospitals may have a thousand doses and it turns out people are not getting vaccinated."
The governor has said that after healthcare workers, those who are over 75, as well as workers in education and childcare, emergency services and food and agriculture workers will be next. They will be followed by those over 65 with an underlying health condition or disability, the homeless, and transportation workers.
Phase 1C would be for those over 50, anyone with a preexisting condition over the age of 16 and the rest of our essential workers.
Brooks says in order to make sure this is a fair process, the county and the people who administer the vaccines submit to the state who they give the vaccine to, and if a hospital or clinic is not following the allocation guidelines, they can be cut off from getting more vaccine.
"We will prioritize based on who you are as an essential worker, and the guiding principles are equity, the exposure that you have, the effect on society, what would we lose and the effect on the economy," he said.