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Chaotic vaccine rollout
Syringes at the Marin County Vaccination Point of Dispensary on Jan. 8, 2021. Photo courtesy Marin County
California’s 58 counties have descended into chaos as they scramble to adapt to new state guidelines instructing them to prioritize residents 65 and older for the COVID-19 vaccine raising concerns about the state’s strategy at a critical moment, with some hospitals operating at 320% capacity. Here’s a breakdown of some key complications slowing the vaccine rollout in California, which as of Wednesday had administered 33% of its doses.
Supply shortage. Despite the unused doses, numerous counties don’t have enough vaccine to begin inoculating seniors.
Due to its size and generosity, the state’s unemployment agency has been inundated with fraudulent COVID-19 benefits claims, which amount to $750 million in false filings each week. Some have come from as far as Russia.
At least 10% of the $360 billion Congress provided for unemployment benefits in the Cares Act has been distributed improperly, mostly due to fraud, according to a preliminary analysis by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Labor. “This is the largest fraud attack on the U.S. ever. Period,” Blake Hall of ID.me, which provides identity-verification to state unemployment agencies, told CNBC. “And it’s not even close.” Most of.