California was expected to begin shifting to a new coronavirus vaccine distribution program on Monday, a scheme developed by Blue Shield intended to unify a patchwork of eligibility standards and speed up vaccine rollout efforts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced at the end of January that California would partner with Blue Shield to speed up the state’s vaccination rollout and more equitably reach communities hit hardest by the pandemic. State officials hope to hit 4 million weekly vaccinations by the end of April.
“Our goal is to overcome this pandemic and save lives, and by working together with health care providers, local health jurisdictions, state public health officials and others, we can accomplish that daunting task,” Blue Shield CEO Paul Markovich said in a statement. “As the federal government prepares to ramp up the availability of vaccines, we are aiming to build a provider network here in California that is only constrained by the number of vaccines we receive.”
Blue Shield will be tasked with making recommendations to state health officials about how many doses each county should receive and which providers will distribute them. The recommendations will be based on California’s priority groups and the state’s goal to vaccinate more people from disadvantaged communities, Markovich said.
Eight counties in the Central Valley will be in the first wave to transition to the state’s new vaccine distribution system. The second wave includes highly populated counties such as Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego. The majority of the Bay Area’s counties will transition to the new system on March 7 during the third wave.
All 58 counties will make the switch by the end of March.
California currently prioritizes health care workers, long-term care residents and staff, people 65 and older, educators and child care workers, food and agricultural industry employees, and first responders. People with high-risk medical conditions will become eligible for vaccination starting on March 15.
People can register online at myturn.ca.gov or by calling 1-833-422-4255 to schedule coronavirus vaccine appointments.
Vanessa Arredondo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @v_anana