Excerpted from CapRadio
By Sammy Caiola
A bipartisan coalition of 47 lawmakers published a letter Wednesday calling on Newsom to better communicate the timeline for when counties can expect to receive new doses.
“We are all aware of the limited amount of vaccines that have been made available to the states,” the lawmakers wrote. “But we believe that we need to plan for a more effective and efficient roll out of these vaccines so we can further improve the public health of Californians and start rebuilding our state.”
In the letter, legislators asked for:
- A reliable forecast for vaccine quantity for the next four weeks
- Updated forecasts at least weekly
- Authorization of nursing students, retired medical professionals and firefighters to administer shots
- Expand the use of the National Guard for vaccine administration
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D–Laguna Beach), the primary signee, said the vaccine “is doing none of us any good just sitting in a warehouse,” and that California has been too focused on plans to administer the vaccine rather than actually getting it out.
“There really is a tradeoff between speed and precision, and I think what we’ve seen so far has been some analysis paralysis,” Petrie-Norris said. “And it’s a really good time for us to stop talking about it and just start getting it done.”