California Unveils New Approach To Vaccine Allocation And Distribution
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On Tuesday, January 26, Governor Newsom revised the vaccine rollout plan to help streamline allocation and distribution. Vaccine distribution will now be led by the Government Operations Agency along with CA Health and Human Services and CA Department of Public Health.
Under the new formula, the state will continue to prioritize individuals in the current Phase 1 A Tiers 1-3 and Phase 1B Tier 1 which includes healthcare workers, followed by Californians age 65+, then teachers, farmworkers and first responders. However, beginning in February the next priority will be age-based and move in unison across all counties. The new change erases the ability for critical manufacturing to be vaccinated in Phase 1B Tier 2 and in some counties, R&D workers who were scheduled to be vaccinated in Phase 1C Tier 2.
In addition to the age-based approach, California is launching My Turn, which is a system to alert Californians when they are eligible to receive the vaccine. Other key components of the new plan include a statewide vaccination administration network that will be built and comprised of pharmacies, health systems, hospitals, pop-up, and mobile sites with a focus on allocating through current “high-throughput” providers. The vaccine provider network will expand as vaccine supply grows. Locally, public health systems will continue to play a key role as vaccine providers and by providing their unique insights and knowledge to ensure the network reaches disproportionately affected communities.
To that end, CLSA is advocating at the state and local level to reiterate the importance of vaccinating the critical manufacturing and R&D workforce.