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Volunteering may get you a COVID vaccine in California - Los Angeles Times

California is making it easier for people to get the COVID-19 vaccine by volunteering at COVID-19 vaccine clinics.

The state launched a volunteer page on its My Turn vaccination scheduling system last week to streamline the process for medical workers and the general public to volunteer. Counties across the state have already made the volunteering option available, but the move by the state is expected to make the process more accessible to people who would otherwise not be eligible for the vaccine.

“A volunteer that completes a shift of four hours or more is eligible to receive a vaccination as along as a clinic administrator provides that approval,” Dave Smith of California Volunteers said last week during a vaccine advisory committee meeting.

Those who are interested in volunteering can do so by going to MyTurnVolunteer.ca.gov. Medical workers, such as doctors and nurses, will be required to verify their medical license in order to register as a vaccinator, vaccine prep supporter or patient observer. Non medical-volunteers, known as general support volunteers, can sign up to assist with vaccine registration, administration support or as a site greeter. Some vaccine sites may require a background check.

Residents will be able to select their shift availability by Zip code and time. Prospective volunteers will be asked whether they’re willing to travel beyond the Zip code range they’ve selected and whether they’ve received their vaccine shot. A volunteer is not required to be vaccinated prior to their service.

Volunteers will be considered community health workers under the state’s essential workforce priority list. Although volunteers will be eligible for the vaccine, they are not guaranteed a dose immediately after a shift. Access to a same-day shot is currently contingent on supply levels at county-run or city-run sites. If a vaccine site doesn’t receive their expected allocation on any given day, they would send out a notice to volunteers to cancel their their shift time.

Since the start of the vaccine rollout, California has worked to expand vaccine clinic capacity by securing more spaces to inoculate people and increasing the number of site staff and volunteers. In preparation for an increase in vaccine supply, state officials launched mass vaccine sites and green-lit dentists and pharmacists to assist with vaccine distribution when supply was still quite low. The preparation, though premature, was meant to ensure that capacity could meet future supply demands.

As the state’s vaccine distribution has now been tied directly to counties’ ability reopen, capacity has become that much more critical. The state expects doses to significantly increase over the next few months following promises from the Biden administration and the authorization of the single-use Johnson and Johnson Janssen vaccine.

Recently, officials announced that the state was prepared to administer 3 million doses each week — a number that currently remains aspirational. Officials continue to hope that vaccine allocation continues to increase, but projection for allocation remains minimal. That has, at times, made forward planning difficult for local and state officials.

To date, the state has administered more than 10.5 million doses. The number has fallen short of the state’s initial goal to administer 12.5 million doses by the end of February, but supply has steadily increased over time.

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Volunteering may get you a COVID vaccine in California - Los Angeles Times
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