Workers in the agriculture, food, education, childcare and emergency services sectors will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine next week. They join a list that already consists of health care workers, long-term care residents, and people 65 and older, as local vaccination efforts continue to expand.
In addition, the distribution of vaccines in Kern County is being taken over by the state of California, modifying the procedures in place in recent weeks.
Starting Monday, individuals wishing to use the mass vaccination site at the Kern County Fairgrounds should visit myturn.ca.gov or call a state call center at 833-422-4255. Previously, Kern County Public Health Services managed vaccine appointments at the fairgrounds through a local call center.
At a news conference Friday, Kern County officials described the measure as part of a general plan that will eventually encompass all vaccine distributors in California. Kern County is part of the first wave of counties to be added to the MyTurn system. Although only the fairgrounds will be included in the system next week, explained Brynn Carrigan, director of public health services in Kern County, consultations for all county vaccines will soon go through the website.
“Finally, all of our vaccination providers will be at MyTurn and it will be a one-stop shop so residents can know where appointments are available and who is eligible,” he said. “Not all of our vendors will be on MyTurn next week, but that should happen very soon.”
The county plans to call people who received the first dose of the vaccine at the fairgrounds between Feb. 3 and Saturday to schedule the second dose. People who do not receive a call within one week after the expiration date of the second dose should call 321-3000.
With the change of platform, there has been some confusion about whether or not people in the expanded eligibility categories will be able to register for appointments. Public health services warned Friday that MyTurn still did not allow the expanded group of workers to register, which county officials expected to be rectified soon.
Residents of Kern County have watched with interest the distribution of vaccines in the hope that life will return to normal relatively soon. But supply has been hampered by slow deployment, so many who are eligible to receive the vaccine cannot sign up for appointments.
To date, Kern County has received 96,600 doses of vaccine, with 93,097 administered to residents as of Friday morning. Carrigan said the number was underestimated because the doses the county health department has administered were not yet reflected in state data.
“Kern is ready, with an outpouring of community providers requesting vaccine allocation, to vaccinate our community,” he said, noting that the county was able to provide 45,000 shots each week, but could not. do so because it received a limited supply of vaccine from the state.
Kern County now receives 1.6 percent of the state’s vaccine allocation, a figure that will rise to 2.9 percent next week. However, at the current rate, it would take 11 weeks to vaccinate only those over 65 years of age.
“I understand that there is a demand from our public for this vaccine,” Chief Administrative Officer Ryan Alsop said during the press conference. “We understand that many of you want to get vaccinated right now. We have been doing everything possible to do this work with the limited supply that has been given to us ”.
He encouraged Kern County residents to “stay there” as the county works to increase its vaccine allocation.
But the problems have continued even though more and more doses are being received. Approximately 6,000 doses were retained that the county was due to receive last week due to the extreme weather in various parts of the country, leading to delays and cancellations in appointments.
You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You can also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.