Californians struggle to get COVID-19 vaccine appointments as eligibility explodes
KGO
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) Vaccine eligibility expanded Monday to include more than four million Californians with severe health conditions and disabilities, but limited appointments filled up so fast those eligible struggled to secure a spot. I don t know what to do, said Bay Area native Heather Kelly. I can t find anything. He has comorbidities, I m worried about him, Kelly said.
Kaiyomarz Mohta is in a similar situation in Alameda County. It says I m eligible, he said. But, that s it.
Mohta made twelve attempts since Friday to secure an appointment.
Here s why California may not expand vaccine eligibility for another month
KGO
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) There are increasing signs from state health officials that California won t move to the next tier of COVID vaccine eligibility for at least a month.
That means Californians over 50 or those working in some jobs deemed essential may have to wait weeks longer to get even a first dose of protection. It s too soon to tell, said Dr. Tomas Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health. We re going to look at supply, we have analysts who are projecting all of this out and we re going to be seeing how many people are getting vaccinated. That really helps determine when we ll make the next announcement.
Workers who have been left out of federal and state pandemic relief launched a hunger strike Tuesday to demand $3.5 billion in funding for excluded workers in the New York State budget as the deadline approaches.
Health officials are warning about a COVID-19 variant spreading in New York, saying the current vaccines may be less effective against the new strain as more Americans are getting the shots.
President Joe Biden is holding firm on his vow to have every American adult eligible for the vaccine by May 1 as some states are drastically relaxing their coronavirus guidelines.