The California Medical Association (CMA) believes that community physician practices are key to helping the state achieve its vaccination goals. Millions of Californians receive care from an independent physician practice. These practices already have relationships with patients and are an important avenue for building trust and sharing accurate information about vaccine safety and efficacy.

CMA is urging the Biden Administration to take actions to support increased participation by community providers, including independent and small physician practices, in the COVID vaccine network, such as:

• Removing the daily Vaccine Finder reporting requirement
• Creating a system to distribute small dose order distribution for pediatric and adult providers
• Encouraging manufacturers to move to a smaller vial size
• Streamlining the CDC application process for all providers
• Increasing financial assistance for providers to provide support for workflow changes and time spent attempting to participate

California physicians have the interest in and capacity to administer vaccinations in their offices. In a survey of more than 4,000 community physician practices completed in January 2021, almost half said they were interested in administering COVID-19 vaccinations to their patients.

Community physician  practices can also help ensure a more equitable distribution of the vaccine, meeting many low-income patients and communities of color where they are instead of asking them to rely on technology or distant sites to receive their vaccinations. This is especially urgent as we prepare to begin vaccination of adolescents. CMA believes that vaccination at regular point of care should be prioritized for pediatric population.