CALIFORNIA, USA — It's the light at the end of the tunnel; COVID-19 vaccines have begun being distributed across the United States, including the Golden State. So, when can you actually get one?
The first in line that has begun inoculation is front line healthcare workers and elderly residents living in nursing and assisted living facilities, according to the California Department of Health's allocation guidelines for COVID-19 vaccine.
But who's next?
The Vaccine Tool Calculator created by Surgo Ventures and Ariadne Labs helps states estimate priority populations with the number of vaccines they have.
After the first phase, the calculator sorts vaccine distribution for the nearly 40 million California residents with phase II consisting of the elderly, incarcerated, homeless, those with compromised immune systems, school staff and other critical workers.
But Governor Newsom has said over and over throughout the pandemic that he is "guided by health, science and data." Yet, the concern is growing for those essential workers, as data leads the way in overall COVID-19 handling, but also specifically for vaccine distribution.
"Amazon continues to operate profitably, it has been less than forthcoming about it's operations and its practices to protect workers from COVID-19," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday.
Becerra led the California Department of Justice in filing a petition against Amazon Monday, saying the company failed to give them proper information about coronavirus impacting their staff.
ABC10 asked Becerra if the alleged lack of information would impact vaccine roll out and essential worker's place in line for the vaccine.
"Depending on the information and the information we may not be getting, certainly that would impact the way our state or local governments proceed with the distribution of the vaccine," Becerra said.
For those not on the frontlines, the wait may be a couple more months for the vaccine.
The Vaccine Tool Calculator has its third phase consisting of young adults, children and more workers. The New York Times and the Vaccine Tool Calculator collaborated so you can look up your place in line. For a healthy young adult not on the frontlines, it said there are around 15 million people ahead, which correlates with local Sacramento County health care official's expectations.
"We anticipate that early spring will be the earliest that we will be able to make it available to the general public," Dr. Olivia Kasirye of the Sacramento County Public Health Office said.
ABC10 reached out to Amazon for a statement regarding the petition filed by the California Attorney General. They responded with the following statement:
“We’re puzzled by the Attorney General’s sudden rush to court because we’ve been working cooperatively for months and their claims of noncompliance with their demands don’t line up with the facts. The bottom line is that we’re a leader in providing COVID-19 safety measures for our employees – we’ve invested billions of dollars in equipment and technology, including building on-site testing for employees and providing personal protective equipment. We encourage anyone to compare our speed and actions in this area to any other major employer.” -Amazon spokesperson
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