California gives state more control over vaccine delivery

The state’s health agency on Tuesday said third-party administrators would take over ordering and distributing vaccine doses, putting an end to a hodgepodge system where each county and hospital system ran its own vaccine delivery program.

In this file photo a pharmacist fills a syringe to prepare a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for front-line health care workers at a vaccination site at Torrance Memorial Medical Center on December 19, 2020 in Torrance, California.

LOS ANGELES — California is revamping its vaccine delivery system to give the state more control over who gets the shots following intense criticism of a slow and scattered rollout by counties.

The move comes after California faced criticism for a slow rollout as coronavirus cases soared and hospital beds filled up with patients in much of the state.

California has said healthcare, education and childcare, emergency service and food and agriculture workers, as well as anyone 65 and older, are eligible for vaccines in the state.

The state will have a website where people can sign up to be notified when they are eligible for a vaccine and to schedule appointments.

More people will become eligible for vaccines in the future based on age, the state health agency said in a statement.

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