Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente To Take Over California COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

By CBSLA Staff, CBS Los Angeles

January 28, 2021

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — As California struggles to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, they’ve turned to health insurance giant Blue Shield of California to create and administrate a statewide vaccine provider network, officials said Wednesday.

Officials say Blue Shield of California will create and manage a statewide administration network to distribute vaccines directly to healthcare providers. Kaiser Permanente will also be part of the effort by distributing vaccines to its network of providers. Both health insurance companies are California-based non-profits, state officials said.

The COVID-19 vaccine had up until now been distributed by county public health departments. But across the state, eligible people have had trouble getting appointments to get the vaccine, and sites have been hampered by dwindling supplies and a shortage of medically-trained volunteers and workers.

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