Analysis: As Texas vaccinates nearly 7 million, California reports numerous vaccination rollout problems

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square

While Texas is approaching a 100 percent reopening with more than 7 million people in total expected to be vaccinated by this week, California is struggling to administer vaccines altogether and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is most likely facing a recall election.

On Sunday, the RecallNewsom2020 campaign announced it had received nearly 2 million signatures, more than enough, once verified, to prompt a special election. If successful, Newsom would be the second governor ever recalled in California history.

Newsom has faced extensive criticism for his ongoing state lockdown, loss of jobs and businesses leaving the state, millions of fraudulent unemployment claims processed, a vaccination rollout that many have criticized, and the first recorded population loss in the state’s history, among other issues.

While more people have left California, even more, have moved to Texas, according to numerous news reports, citing lower taxes and a much friendlier business climate.

Texas’ vaccination rollout program has been far more successful than California’s by large margins despite Newsom referring to Abbott’s plan to reopen the state as “reckless.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on March 2 that more than 7 million vaccinations will be given by March 10, the date the state is slated to fully reopen.

Texas has administered one million vaccine shots a week, Abbott said, with more than 50 percent of Texas seniors vaccinated, noting that doing so is “always voluntary, never forced.”

Every day, Abbott’s administration posts an update on COVID-related data. On March 2, 216,000 vaccination shots were administered.

Hospitalizations and the positivity rate were the lowest they had been in four months, and “Texans know how to implement safe practices,” he said.

On March 3, another new daily record in vaccines was administered: more than 229,000. Texas school employees and childcare workers were also able to begin receiving the vaccine.

Texas also recorded the lowest COVID hospitalizations since Oct. 24. The positivity rate was the lowest it had been since Oct. 14 and steadily declined for two consecutive months. By this time, in one week, Texas had administered 1,220,577 vaccine shots.

On March 4, COVID hospitalizations and the positivity rate both continued to decline, and 180,914 vaccinations were administered.

On March 5, more than 200,000 Texans received a vaccination shot, COVID hospitalizations continued to decline, as did the number of active COVID cases, and, “ALL 22 hospital regions in Texas are out of the danger zone,” Abbott said.

On March 6, more than 228,000 Texans received a vaccine, the second-largest number administered in one day. Hospitalizations declined below 5,000 and were at the lowest level since Oct. 20, Abbott said. The COVID positivity rate is the lowest it has been since Oct. 11 and has been under 10 percent and declining for seven days.

On March 7, Abbott said the good news just kept coming. The COVID positivity rate was 7.09 percent, the lowest it had been in 5 months.

Hospitalizations continue to decline at 4,721, the lowest since Oct. 19, and vaccination rates continued to increase.

On Sunday night, Abbott said Texas is slated to receive more than 1,385,000 COVID vaccines this week. He urged all seniors and educators who want to be vaccinated to sign up online or call 2-1-1 to get a referral for a local provider.

Meanwhile, “California’s early vaccine rollout was chaotic and filled with problems,” the Los Angeles Times reports, identifying a list of “what went wrong.”

“More than a third of the Pfizer and Moderna doses in California appear to be unused, but health officials say they can’t give out shots more quickly,” the Times reports.

“And problems with the state’s data systems have left officials in the dark about how many doses have actually been administered, clouding the picture of the state’s progress.”

The Times also created a map highlighting disparities in California’s vaccine distribution using county public health data.

Last week, U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and 11 members of California’s congressional delegation demanded Newsom provide answers on the “failures” of the vaccination rollout.

Because of the state’s inability to administer vaccines, it entered into a contract Feb. 15 with Blue Shield of California to begin distribution, which has also been fraught with problems.

County health departments are reporting problems with California’s “My Turn” vaccine sign-up tool, CBS 13 Sacramento reports. “The issues range from My Turn telling people that there are no appointments in some counties, when there are, to the site sending people from the Bay Area to the Greater Sacramento area and forcing local counties to give them some of the limited local supply.”

CBS 13 reports that the California Department of Public Health couldn’t say “how many counties are fully operational and currently allow residents to make an appointment through My Turn.

A CDPH representative said that the list changes regularly. However, he said that the state estimates that people in all counties will be able to make appointments through My Turns by the end of the month.”

In the meantime, CBS13 asked CDPH why the website incorrectly states, “no appointments are available” in the counties that are not fully operational on My Turn. CDPH did not provide a response. Neither has the governor.

In their letter to Newsom, congressmen and women asked when counties and local health care providers would find out how many doses they would be receiving. “The state of California should explain to Californians why the vaccine distribution has had such failures, despite having months to prepare prior to the development of the vaccine,” they wrote.

“We recognize our responsibility to do more,” Newsom said Sunday, the same day the RecallNewsom 2020 campaign announced it had received nearly 2 million signatures.