Governor Gavin Newsom made a surprise announcement Thursday, saying that the schedule for vaccine eligibility statewide is moving up faster than expected — with all residents over the age of 50 able to get vaccines starting next week, on April 1.
"The light at the end of the tunnel continues to get brighter," Newsom tweeted Thursday morning, along with the announcement.
Newsom had previously said, late last week, that all Californians would be vaccine-eligible by the last week of April. But today he says that all residents age 16 and up can get vaccines starting April 15, about 10 days ahead of that schedule.
NEW: CA is expanding eligibility for the #COVID19 vaccine.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 25, 2021
Beginning April 1, Californians 50+ will be able to sign up for an appointment.
Beginning April 15, eligibility will be expanded to everyone 16 and older.
The light at the end of the tunnel continues to get brighter.
As the Chronicle notes, New York is already ahead of California in opening up eligibility to the 50+ set — though two Bay Area counties, Solano and Contra Costa, have already done so. Mississippi and West Virginia have also opened up vaccines for ages 50 and up, and Alaska opened up eligibility to all ages 16 and up on March 10.
Newsom has said that California's vaccine supply was expected to increase exponentially in the coming weeks, allowing for his accelerated schedule — however vaccine appointments are likely to continue to be hard to get for the foreseeable future.
Go to MyTurn.ca.gov to look for appointments each day, or check CVS, Safeway, Rite Aid, or with your healthcare provider.
Photo: Brock Keeling/Instagram
