Californians with disabilities are outraged over vaccine de-prioritization
3 years, 11 months ago

Californians with disabilities are outraged over vaccine de-prioritization

LA Times  

Ntombi Peters has severe asthma and takes immunosuppressant drugs to treat her multiple sclerosis. “It’s very disheartening.” Like most states, California had previously planned to deliver vaccines in tiers, with essential workers and people with certain high-risk medical conditions prioritized over healthy, low-risk adults. “Clearly, we are living in a culture that still sees people like me as disposable,” said Alice Wong, 46, a disabled activist in San Francisco, who created the hashtag #HighRiskCA in response to the change. “The California state government has completely overlooked people who are at higher risk for hospitalization and death, and I don’t understand why.” Neither are those at greatest risk from the virus necessarily able to shelter at home, as Peters, Wong and Davenport do. “There’s a high correlation between poverty and disability,” said Andy Imparato of Disability Rights California, who also serves on the state’s vaccine advisory committee.

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History of this topic

Politics and pandemic fatigue derail California’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates
2 years, 7 months ago

Politics and pandemic fatigue derail California’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates

LA Times  

In January, progressive California Democrats vowed to adopt the toughest COVID-19 vaccine requirements in the country. Now, even as case rates start to balloon again, the window of opportunity to adopt COVID-19 vaccine mandates may have closed, said Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. And legislation is just not being enacted.” California One of …

Anti-vaccination forces gear up for fight over California vaccine legislation
2 years, 11 months ago

Anti-vaccination forces gear up for fight over California vaccine legislation

LA Times  

Vaccine protester Jessica Holloway of Lake County urges California lawmakers and Gov. “It’s important that we continue to push for vaccine mandates the most aggressively we possibly can,” said Wicks, who faced death threats over her vaccine legislation last year. “We can’t let ourselves be held hostage by these right-wing conspiracy theorists who are perpetrating hate and violence.” ‘The firestorm …

California sets Feb. 1 deadline for health worker boosters
3 years ago

California sets Feb. 1 deadline for health worker boosters

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s roughly 2.5 million health care workers have until Feb. 1 to get a coronavirus vaccine booster shot or risk losing their jobs, Gov. Now, California joins New Mexico as at least the second state to require a booster shot for its health care workers. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, said officials are not considering …

The ACT has recorded 24 new COVID-19 cases as mandatory vaccination announced for disability workers
3 years, 2 months ago

The ACT has recorded 24 new COVID-19 cases as mandatory vaccination announced for disability workers

ABC  

The ACT has recorded 24 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases. Key points: Among the 24 new cases of COVID-19 are a person who visited Caroline Chisholm School and a resident of Goodwin Aged Care Among the 24 new cases of COVID-19 are a person who visited Caroline Chisholm School and a resident of Goodwin Aged Care The ACT government has …

Democratic lawmakers drop idea for a California statewide vaccine mandate
3 years, 4 months ago

Democratic lawmakers drop idea for a California statewide vaccine mandate

LA Times  

Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, shown in 2020, said she will not pursue a proposal this year for a vaccine mandate. Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks said she will not pursue the proposal this year after drafts of her bill language were leaked last week, saying she needed more time to craft “the strongest bill possible.” However, dropping the proposal before the Legislature adjourns …

Can California’s vaccine supply and technology keep up as millions become eligible?
3 years, 9 months ago

Can California’s vaccine supply and technology keep up as millions become eligible?

LA Times  

The expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone age 50 and older will be the biggest test yet for California’s vaccine effort, which has stabilized recently but still faces questions about whether supply and appointments can keep pace with demand. “It’s impossible for us not to be alerting people to the fact that they are going to perhaps need to …

California releases details on how millions can get COVID-19 vaccinations beginning Monday
3 years, 10 months ago

California releases details on how millions can get COVID-19 vaccinations beginning Monday

LA Times  

Four days before an estimated 4.4 million Californians with disabilities or underlying health conditions become eligible for the vaccine, the California Public Health Department released guidance on the verification process. Those include people who use regional centers, independent living centers, in-home supportive services, community-based adult services, Medi-Cal HIV/AIDS waivers, Medi-Cal home and community-based alternatives waivers, Medi-Cal assisted living waivers, program …

Lack of equity within priority groups leaves Covid-19’s most vulnerable without vaccine, analysis suggests
3 years, 10 months ago

Lack of equity within priority groups leaves Covid-19’s most vulnerable without vaccine, analysis suggests

CNN  

CNN — As demand for Covid-19 vaccines continues to outpace supply, there’s still not sufficient supply to cover everyone within even the top priority groups. Around the United States, there are various plans in place to prioritize distribution of the limited supply of vaccines – in December, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issued …

Californians Taking Advantage Of Vaccine Rules For Parents With Disabled Kids
3 years, 11 months ago

Californians Taking Advantage Of Vaccine Rules For Parents With Disabled Kids

NPR  

Californians Taking Advantage Of Vaccine Rules For Parents With Disabled Kids Parents of children with disabilities qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine in California. FORTIER: In January, the California Department of Developmental Services issued a letter saying that parents like Madrigal are considered health workers and immediately qualify for the vaccine. LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says people were …

California opens COVID vaccine to disabled, high-risk people
3 years, 11 months ago

California opens COVID vaccine to disabled, high-risk people

LA Times  

California officials said Friday that people ages 16 to 64 who are disabled or at high risk for morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 will be eligible for vaccination beginning next month. When asked about the state’s announcement, Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said he hopes many of the county’s providers …

California’s early vaccine rollout was chaotic and filled with problems. Here’s what went wrong
3 years, 11 months ago

California’s early vaccine rollout was chaotic and filled with problems. Here’s what went wrong

LA Times  

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, far right, and California Gov. “It would be a mistaken assumption to say you don’t need to do education even among healthcare workers,” said California Sen. Richard Pan, who has worked to tighten California’s childhood vaccine laws. Barbara Ferrer, the head of L.A. County’s public health department, said she had been forced to dispatch “data teams” …

As California lifts restrictions, a top health official worries about Covid-19 variants and the slow vaccine supply
3 years, 11 months ago

As California lifts restrictions, a top health official worries about Covid-19 variants and the slow vaccine supply

CNN  

CNN — The stay-at-home order in California has ended, but a top Los Angeles health official worries that another spike could be on the horizon as Covid-19 variants spread and the supply of vaccines struggles to meet the demand. Trends are moving in a positive direction as well in Los Angeles County, which has more than halved its number of …

Growing racial inequities in L.A. County vaccine rollout raise alarms
3 years, 11 months ago

Growing racial inequities in L.A. County vaccine rollout raise alarms

LA Times  

A driver awaits a COVID-19 vaccination in the parking lot of the Forum in Inglewood. Los Angeles County officials said they are concerned about low vaccination numbers among healthcare workers in South L.A. and other communities of color, while advocates for essential workers worry that California’s new vaccine priority plan slows their ability to get inoculated despite the dangers inherent …

Essential workers, disability advocates fear being left out as California shifts to age-based COVID-19 vaccine priority
3 years, 11 months ago

Essential workers, disability advocates fear being left out as California shifts to age-based COVID-19 vaccine priority

LA Times  

Drivers pull up to a mass vaccination site in the parking lot of the Forum in Inglewood. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Monday that the state would shift vaccine priority to an age-based eligibility structure has sparked concerns from groups representing some essential workers and disabled people who may now have to wait longer to get vaccinated. Before Newsom’s announcement, the state …

California will prioritize COVID-19 vaccine by age, not occupation, in next rounds
3 years, 11 months ago

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

LA Times  

In a significant reshuffling of vaccine eligibility guidelines, California officials said Monday they will be shifting who is prioritized in the next round of COVID-19 inoculations to focus on age rather than specific occupations considered higher risk. “From our perspective, if we wait until May to get to other populations, a lot of people under 65 are going to die …

Don’t expect fast rollout of COVID-19 vaccine for elderly as California faces logistical woes
4 years ago

Don’t expect fast rollout of COVID-19 vaccine for elderly as California faces logistical woes

LA Times  

A resident has her temperature taken at Orange County’s first large-scale vaccination site, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, on Wednesday. But shortly after Newsom’s announcement, some county health officials began pushing back against the claim that all residents 65 and older — a group of nearly 6 million individuals — were immediately eligible now for a coveted dose. In …

California allows residents 65 and older to get COVID-19 vaccine, but doses remain limited
4 years ago

California allows residents 65 and older to get COVID-19 vaccine, but doses remain limited

LA Times  

Syringes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine sit in a tray in a vaccination room at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. In Los Angeles, public health officials said people 65 and older won’t have access to the vaccine until the county finishes vaccinating front-line workers. “We’re not done with our healthcare workers,” said LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, adding …

California May Consider 'Historical Injustice' When Allocating COVID-19 Vaccine
4 years ago

California May Consider 'Historical Injustice' When Allocating COVID-19 Vaccine

NPR  

California May Consider 'Historical Injustice' When Allocating COVID-19 Vaccine Enlarge this image toggle caption Sam Wasson/Getty Images Sam Wasson/Getty Images When Virginia Hedrick first heard about the coronavirus circulating on cruise ships off the coast of California back in March, it made her think back to some of the first ships of European settlers that arrived on American shores centuries …

Many Californians, particularly Black residents, would skip taking COVID-19 vaccine today, survey finds
4 years, 2 months ago

Many Californians, particularly Black residents, would skip taking COVID-19 vaccine today, survey finds

LA Times  

As scientists race to develop COVID-19 vaccines, a new poll shows fewer than one-third of Black residents in California plan to get immunized. “We’ve seen this even in terms of other types of immunizations.” The poll results released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California show that a majority of those surveyed, 57%, said they would either definitely or …

Californians strongly back vaccine law in new statewide poll
5 years, 3 months ago

Californians strongly back vaccine law in new statewide poll

LA Times  

Daisi Minor gives an MMR vaccine to Kristian Richard, 1, being held by his mother, Natasha. Californians strongly support a state law creating new oversight of vaccine medical exemptions for schoolchildren in a statewide poll released Monday, with backing across a spectrum of political affiliations, income and education levels, and geography. Still, 67% of conservative voters who participated overwhelmingly supported …

California Assembly committee backs vaccine exemption law
5 years, 6 months ago

California Assembly committee backs vaccine exemption law

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California Assembly committee backed new rules for vaccination exemptions on Thursday following a raucous, hours-long hearing in the midst of a national measles outbreak and renewed scrutiny of immunization policies. Under the bill, the public health department would scrutinize doctors who grant more than five medical exemptions in a year and schools with vaccination rates of …

4 in 10 students would have their vaccine exemptions rejected, California estimates
5 years, 7 months ago

4 in 10 students would have their vaccine exemptions rejected, California estimates

LA Times  

California public health officials estimate four in 10 children would be denied a waiver from vaccines required to attend school under a contentious bill to tighten medical exemptions in the state. State public health officials said they expect students and their families to make 11,500 requests each year seeking an exemption from immunizations due to a medical reason, with 5,000 …

Column: A new skirmish in the California vaccination wars breaks out. Science will prevail
5 years, 8 months ago

Column: A new skirmish in the California vaccination wars breaks out. Science will prevail

LA Times  

Dr. Marti Baum, left, a pediatrician, joined others at the Capitol in Sacramento to urge lawmakers to approve a proposal to give state public health officials the power to decide which children can skip their shots before attending school. I thought the vaccination wars in California pretty much fizzled out in 2015 after we outlawed religious and “personal belief” exemptions …

Editorial: California still has a vaccination loophole. Close it
5 years, 8 months ago

Editorial: California still has a vaccination loophole. Close it

LA Times  

After a measles outbreak at Disneyland in 2014, the California Legislature eliminated the religious and “personal belief” exemptions that allowed parents to easily opt their kids out of the standard course of immunizations required to attend public school. Public health experts suspect parents who object to having their children vaccinated turned to sympathetic doctors in order to obtain illegitimate medical …

Here’s what happened after California got rid of personal belief exemptions for childhood vaccines
6 years, 2 months ago

Here’s what happened after California got rid of personal belief exemptions for childhood vaccines

LA Times  

Raven Summers, held by her mother Jessica Summers, holds her breath as she receives a vaccination from medical technician Lilliana Lopez at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 2017. That’s just one of the frustrations faced by health officials in the first year after California did away with “personal belief exemptions” that allowed parents to send their kids to school unvaccinated, …

Must Reads: California doctor critical of vaccines is punished for exempting 2-year-old boy from all childhood immunizations
6 years, 6 months ago

Must Reads: California doctor critical of vaccines is punished for exempting 2-year-old boy from all childhood immunizations

LA Times  

In a decision that could signal how California’s fierce vaccine debates will play out in the coming years, the Medical Board of California has ordered 35 months’ probation for Dr. Bob Sears, an Orange County pediatrician well-known for being sympathetic to parents opposed to vaccines. “It really is strongly limiting his ability to practice … he’s a doctor under supervision …

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