California will prioritize COVID-19 vaccine by age, not occupation, in next rounds

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California announced changes to how the state will prioritize COVID-19 vaccines. The existing list prioritizing health care workers and residents aged 65 and older remains intact, followed by teachers, farm workers, and first responders. The next groups on the list will be people younger than age 65 years. No details about the criteria were released, but they may first focus on people older than age 50 years. State officials estimated last week that it could take until June to get vaccinations to all those aged 65 years and older. Los Angeles County estimated it may take until 2022 for all county residents to be vaccinated unless it receives more doses of vaccine. To date, California has administered more than 2.4 million vaccine doses, while more than 4.5 million doses were shipped to health providers.