Newsom: COVID-19 vaccine line-skipping will be met with sanctions – KCRA Sacramento

During reporter questions after his Monday COVID-19 briefing, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned against trying to cut in line for a coronavirus vaccine. Newsom said health care providers who violate the vaccine priority guidelines will be sanctioned and that the state will be putting out details soon on how the COVID-19 vaccine hierarchy will be enforced in California."I just want to make this crystal clear: If you skip the line, or you intend to skip the line, you will be sanctioned, you will lose your license. You will not only lose your license, we will be very aggressive in terms of highlighting the reputational impacts as well," he said.Newsom went on to say that the state will work with counties to monitor the vaccine distribution on a local level. Im not nave to the prospects that there are going to be some issues and were going to have to work, not just as a state, but with our county partners to monitor that behavior at the local level, even at the clinic level," he said. "To make sure that someone isnt passing a few vials over to their cousin or aunt or uncle or, God forbid, making a buck or two on the backs of a vaccine that should be distributed to someone who is at high risk.As of Saturday, more than 261,000 COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in California, a state with a population of about 40 million people. While many health care workers are getting immunized against the virus before the end of the year, large swaths of the U.S. population are going to have to wait for months for their vaccine. California, meanwhile, is getting closer to deciding who will be next in line for the vaccine as more doses become available. "Phase 1B" of the state's vaccine distribution plan could be finalized as early as Wednesday, Newsom said. Phase 1B would be divided into two tiers, with the first group including those over 75 years old as well as workers in education, child care, emergency services and food and agriculture. The second tier in Phase 1B would include those 65 and older with underlying health conditions, transportation workers, inmates and the homeless. The question about vaccine distribution enforcement comes as California is bracing for a surge on top of a surge of COVID-19 cases after Christmas gatherings and expected New Year's events.

During reporter questions after his Monday COVID-19 briefing, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned against trying to cut in line for a coronavirus vaccine.

Newsom said health care providers who violate the vaccine priority guidelines will be sanctioned and that the state will be putting out details soon on how the COVID-19 vaccine hierarchy will be enforced in California.

"I just want to make this crystal clear: If you skip the line, or you intend to skip the line, you will be sanctioned, you will lose your license. You will not only lose your license, we will be very aggressive in terms of highlighting the reputational impacts as well," he said.

Newsom went on to say that the state will work with counties to monitor the vaccine distribution on a local level.

Im not nave to the prospects that there are going to be some issues and were going to have to work, not just as a state, but with our county partners to monitor that behavior at the local level, even at the clinic level," he said. "To make sure that someone isnt passing a few vials over to their cousin or aunt or uncle or, God forbid, making a buck or two on the backs of a vaccine that should be distributed to someone who is at high risk.

As of Saturday, more than 261,000 COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in California, a state with a population of about 40 million people. While many health care workers are getting immunized against the virus before the end of the year, large swaths of the U.S. population are going to have to wait for months for their vaccine.

California, meanwhile, is getting closer to deciding who will be next in line for the vaccine as more doses become available. "Phase 1B" of the state's vaccine distribution plan could be finalized as early as Wednesday, Newsom said.

Phase 1B would be divided into two tiers, with the first group including those over 75 years old as well as workers in education, child care, emergency services and food and agriculture. The second tier in Phase 1B would include those 65 and older with underlying health conditions, transportation workers, inmates and the homeless.

The question about vaccine distribution enforcement comes as California is bracing for a surge on top of a surge of COVID-19 cases after Christmas gatherings and expected New Year's events.

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Newsom: COVID-19 vaccine line-skipping will be met with sanctions - KCRA Sacramento