Health - page 11

On Monday, Blue Shield took over California's COVID-19 vaccination distribution in an attempt to streamline the process and create a single, statewide criterion, remove the responsibility from individual counties.

San Joaquin and Stanislaus were among the first counties impacted by the shift to Blue Shield, as the insurance company focused its efforts on communities where the virus disproportionately affected families.

Here are five things to know about the shift:

1.Blue Shield's goal is to fully inoculate 25 million people by the summer. In a statement sent to KCRA 3, the insurance company said its plan is to increase the doses per week from one million to four million by the end of March.

The transition began Monday, March 1, and is expected to finish the change to the statewide criteria by end of the month.

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Stanislaus County Public Health will continue vaccinating individuals over the age of 65 and expand operations to include those over age 50 in the food and agriculture, education, and emergency services sectors starting Monday, Feb. 22. As Stanislaus County continues to expand its capacity to administer the vaccine, the vaccine supply allocations from the State remain limited.

To provide accessibility to residents in Stanislaus County, four high volume mass vaccination clinics are operating in the cities of Modesto, Turlock, Patterson, and Oakdale. The County is also working on a Mobile Vaccination Unit to make accessibility to the COVID‐19 vaccine as convenient and equitable as possible, particularly in neighborhoods that were impacted most by the pandemic.

Public Health officials said that while the County is working on vaccinating as many residents as possible, it is still critical that all residents continue to follow the recommendations to wear a mask, avoid gatherings, wash hands often, stay six feet from others whenever in public places, and get tested if exposed or experiencing symptoms.

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STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. — Stanislaus County will begin vaccinating eligible residents ages 50 years and older, starting Feb. 22, according to county health officials.

Those eligible include people 50 and older who work in food and agriculture, education, and emergency services.

Stanislaus County will continue to vaccinate those 65 and older, health department officials said. They also stress the number of vaccinations allocated from the state remains "limited."

Stanislaus County is reminding residents that vaccination clinics are located in the following communities: Modesto, Turlock, Patterson, and Oakdale. A detailed map for each location can be found here.

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WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- An East Bay doctor was hailed as a hero after creating an opportunity to vaccinate seniors. But, a week later her motive is being called into question.

A local medical practice is no longer receiving vaccines after complaints were filed alleging an unfair distribution process.

Last week Dr. Parish hosted a drive through vaccination clinic for seniors at Stanley Middle School in Lafayette.

At least three physicians filed formal complaints to the Contra Costa County Public Health Ethics Board and another complaint was filed to the Medical Board of California.

"I'm pretty sure somewhere in there I promised somebody my firstborn child," said Parish commenting on how hard she worked to acquire the vaccines.

Parish, CEO of a private concierge medical practice, Comprehensive Wellness says she spent 60 hours trying to convince county health officials to give her 500 vaccine doses to host a drive-thru clinic to vaccinate seniors.

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