• Which vaccines are approved for use in United States (FDA)
• How much vaccine will be allocated to each state (CDC)
• Overall framework for who gets vaccine at each phase of the rollout (CDC)
  • Initial Framework: A Phased Approach for COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation (National Academy of Medicine)
• Ongoing research, monitoring, and oversight (NIH, FDA, CDC)

Vaccine Roll Out in California

The California Department of Public Health has convened a Drafting Guidelines Workgroup which is leveraging national prioritization frameworks and reviewing data regarding occupational exposure and COVID-19 risk to prioritize sectors across phases and tiered population groups. All California counties will follow these guidelines in administering vaccine.  However, given the number of people falling into the various tiers in a specific county, the uptake of those in the priority group in getting vaccinated, and the logistics and timeline for use of the vaccine so that no doses go to waste, counties may be in different tiers in administering vaccine to their population. Specifically, the CDPH will decide:

• Which vaccine(s) will be used in CA
• How much vaccine will be allocated to each local health jurisdiction/county
• State-specific framework for who will get vaccine when (per federal guidelines)
• Which data systems will be used across the state to monitor vaccine distribution and uptake
• Ongoing data collection, monitoring and oversight

For more information:

California Community Vaccine Advisory Committee

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Community-Vaccine-Advisory-Committee.aspx

California Department of Public health Vaccination Planning Webpage

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/COVID-19Vaccine.aspx

• Coordinate local infrastructure for vaccine storage, distribution, & administration
• Promote equitable distribution across local communities
• Develop County-specific framework for who gets vaccine when (per state guidelines)
• Conduct ongoing data reporting and monitoring

Local Planning:

The County’s role and responsibility in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is logistics: planning and preparing for the distribution of one or more vaccines. Hospitals, health care systems, and community clinics will administer vaccines in compliance with federal, state and county requirements. Federal authorities also have created a partnership with pharmacies to disseminate the vaccines through mobile clinics inside nursing homes and care facilities all over the country. The County has submitted plans to the California Department of Public Health with local vaccine distribution plans.  

Per State and Federal policy, COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to specific populations in phases and community sites would be in the last phase. Local planning will leverage lessons learned from flu clinics, which were modified to accommodate COVID-19 considerations, data on need, and community feedback, as well as our 2009 experience with H1N1.

This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are following closely the work of California’s vaccine planning task force, which is determining many of the policies and procedures for which vaccine gets distributed when, how, and to whom. The State’s decisions will be implemented through our local plans.