California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a series of changes to the state’s vaccination plan on Monday, including a shift to an age-based eligibility system for COVID-19 vaccines.

The reasoning for the new framework is to simplify the eligibility process and standardize vaccine information and data to help ensure the available supply of COVID-19 vaccine is administered to residents as quickly as possible, officials said.

“Vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am focused on taking the steps needed to get Californians safely vaccinated as quickly as possible,” said Newsom. “Our public health and health care systems have done heroic work administering more than 2.4 million vaccinations thus far. To reach the pace needed to vaccinate all Californians in a timely manner, we are simplifying and standardizing the process statewide.”

See Related: How To Register For A COVID-19 Vaccine In Los Angeles County

Moving forward, there is set to be a single statewide standard and movement through the tiers. The state plans to continue vaccinations for people aged 65 years and over, health care workers, and prioritize emergency services, food and agriculture workers, teachers and school staff.

From there, the state then plans to transition to age-based eligibility, allowing California to scale up and down quickly, while ensuring vaccines go to disproportionately impacted communities, state officials said.

The announcement came mere hours after the news that California would be lifting the stay-at-home order, which had been implemented on Dec. 3, 2020.

The lifting of the stay-at-home order allows certain industries such as outdoor dining and indoor personal care services to resume in counties across the state.

While a November 2019 County Board of Supervisors decision to close outdoor dining prevents the immediate reopening of in-person dining at Los Angeles County restaurants, officials plan to realign with state restrictions by the end of the week, according to L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis.

See Related: L.A. County To Re-Open Outdoor Dining ‘By The End Of The Week’

The state also announced the launch of “My Turn,” a new resource where Californians can learn when they are eligible to be vaccinated, make an appointment when they are eligible, and track vaccination data, officials said.

A pilot program version of “My Turn” is now available to Los Angeles and San Diego county residents and is expected to be available statewide in early February.

To date, California has received more than 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, roughly enough for 2 million people at two doses each. California has 3 million health care workers and nursing home residents, 6 million people 65 years of age and older, and 2.5 million Californians who work in education and child care, emergency services and food and agriculture, state officials said.

California has tripled the pace of vaccinations from 43,459 per day on January 4 to 131,620 on January 15.

“The ten-day effort to ramp up vaccinations exposed key improvements needed to administer even more vaccines when increased supply becomes available.” reads a state press release.

At its current pace, California vaccinates about 120,000 Californians a day.

See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.