SANTA BARBARA COUNTY AWAITING VACCINES TO SERVE 65+ AND NEXT TIER
By now you have heard about changing guidelines for who is eligible to receive a vaccine for COVID-19. This week, Governor Newsom announced that individuals 65 years and older are eligible to receive a vaccine. While this change in eligibility criteria is exciting, it does not change the realities of the amount of vaccine available to us at this moment.
Santa Barbara County will continue to vaccinate its frontline healthcare workers in Phase 1A, Tiers 1, 2 and 3. The state’s recent announcement about vaccinating everyone who is 65 years of age and older will begin locally once adequate quantities of the vaccines are received by the County from the State.
Our goal is for everyone to be able to easily get the COVID-19 vaccine in a phased in approach as soon as sufficient quantities become available. Until that time, Santa Barbara County Public Health and healthcare providers are vaccinating in order of priority based on supply.
In anticipation of ramping up vaccinations, Santa Barbara County is in contact with the State to determine timing for additional releases in order to address anticipated demand locally. Once adequate vaccines are received from the State, the County will move to the next phase of vaccinations, Phase 1B Tier 1, which includes:
- Persons 65 and older
- Those at risk of exposure at work in the following sectors:
- Education
- Childcare
- Emergency Services
- Food/Grocery and Agricultural Workers
Beginning January 20, Santa Barbara County will be offering COVID-19 vaccinations to individuals age 75 and older in Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara.
We estimate that there are 32,000 community residents age 75 and above in Santa Barbara County, and the Public Health Department will be administering 1,200 vaccines between January 20 and January 26 to start. Appointments will continue to open up as more vaccines are available.
Vaccine appointment registration for those community members 75 years of age or older can be accessed HERE.
How do I get on the list to receive a vaccination when it is my turn?
Everyone is encouraged to sign up to receive up-to-date, local vaccination information for Santa Barbara County via email by registering here. For up-to-date information about vaccine distribution, go to PublicHealthSBC.org/Vaccine or call 2-1-1 from the 805 area code.
Where can I find out more about Santa Barbara County’s vaccine plan and priorities?