All adults in California will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 15, state health officials announced on Thursday, noting that the move is based on the anticipated increase in vaccine supply in the coming weeks.
“With vaccine supply increasing and by expanding eligibility to more Californians, the light at the end of the tunnel continues to get brighter,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
Adults over 50 will be able to make a vaccination appointment on April 1, followed by all adults 16 and older on April 15. State health officials said they expect the number of doses allocated to the state to increase from about 1.8 million doses per week to approximately 2.5 million doses per week in the first half of April and to more than 3 million doses in the second half of April.
“We are even closer to putting this pandemic behind us with today’s announcement and with vaccine supplies expected to increase dramatically in the months ahead,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s Department of Health and Human Services secretary.
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California’s vaccination rate climbed steadily from March 14, having struggled through the first couple of months of the massive undertaking that was getting vaccines to the most vulnerable populations. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that California doled out a smaller portion of vaccines to counties with the highest density of people most vulnerable to severe illness than it has to counties with healthier, younger populations from the start of the rollout in December through March 1.
“We remain focused on equity as we extend vaccine eligibility,” Newsom said. “This is possible thanks to the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration and the countless public health officials across the state who have stepped up to get shots into arms.”
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To date, California has given at least one dose of a vaccine to about 27% of its population, while nearly 14% have been fully vaccinated.
