SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California public health officials on Wednesday gave a clearer, but bleak timeline on a coronavirus vaccination timeline.
During an advisory committee meeting, State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said it could take 20-22 weeks to vaccinate the 6.2 million Californians who are ages 65 and older.
She said that is based on the current rate the state is receiving doses from the federal government.
"We're getting anywhere from 400,000 to, in a good week, 500,000 doses a week," she said.
Just last week, California public health officials announced people 65 and older would be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine where doses are available, in addition to health care workers and those in long-term care settings.
The move was meant to help lift the burden off hospital systems -- where that age group makes up a majority of ICU admissions and 83% of deaths as of January 19th, according to CDPH. But the problem is there aren't enough vaccines, and county officials are urging their residents to be patient.
"We want to get the word out that vaccines are limited now so people understand that not everybody 65 and over right now can get a vaccine in the next day or two because the governor said so. The governor said that, but that's not truly what's available," said Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer.
The shipments could increase, but at the current rate, it would be May or even June before the next tier reaches the front of the line.
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