93,000 people volunteered for the California Health Corps. But 60,000 of them didn’t have a valid license, and another 20,000 have not filled out an application!?
For days after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the all-volunteer California Health Corps, he provided updates on how many retired medical workers had signed up and marveled at the numbers — 34,000 in the first 48 hours, 82,000 a week later.

Newsom said the state would move quickly to get them to assist with the expected crush of coronavirus cases.

The sign-ups reached 93,000, but the wave Newsom worried would overwhelm hospitals hasn’t arrived. And the ranks of those in line to join the corps have fallen precipitously.

The state’s initial vetting revealed two-thirds — 60,000 volunteers — didn’t have the most basic requirement: a valid license to practice their specialty. And about 20,000 of those remaining have not filled out an application, despite being sent a reminder.

State data requested by The Associated Press shows about 10,500 people are in a final review and of those, 4,900 or about 5% of those who initially volunteered are cleared to participate.

With hospitals able to handle their caseload, there isn’t a clearly defined role for the corps, but that hasn’t stopped the first deployment — 233 doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists and support staff have been working for more than a week at the emergency hospital at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.