SLO County delays some COVID vaccinations in advance of stormy weather
High winds and heavy rains on Wednesday will delay coronavirus vaccinations in San Luis Obispo, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department.
The department said that all Wednesday vaccine appointments scheduled at the San Luis Obispo clinic — which will move from the county Public Health Department headquarters to Cuesta College on Monday — were rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 1, in anticipation of a major winter storm.
A storm on Wednesday and Thursday expected to drop up to 7 inches of rain throughout San Luis Obispo County and southerly wind gusts reaching 70 mph, PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey said in his Monday forecast.
“The expected storm is going to be a big one, so we are making changes to the vaccine clinics to ensure everyone’s safety,” county Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in a news release.
Coronavirus vaccinations are set to take place as scheduled Wednesday at the county’s Paso Robles and Arroyo Grande vaccination sites, according to the release.
Appointments for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday were still expected to take place at all three local Public Health Department vaccination sites, the release said.
All county residents affected by the rescheduling will be notified by the Public Health Department via email, text or phone call. Appointment times will remain the same despite the change in date, the county said.
Around 5,100 county residents were signed up to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week.
As of Jan. 25, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department has vaccinated 10,539 people. Of those, 2,281 have also received a second dose, according to RecoverSLO.org.
How to register for a coronavirus vaccination appointment
The county Public Health Department is only administering vaccines to people in Phase 1A and Phase 1B — health care workers, skilled nursing facility employees and people age 75 and older.
All vaccine appointments were filled for the week of Jan. 25 to Jan. 31. No appointments for the upcoming week had been announced as of Tuesday.
Future appointments can be made online at RecoverSLO.org/VaccineRegistration when they become available.
Appointments can also be made via phone at 805-543-2444. The county’s Phone Assistance Center is now available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Residents can also receive email alerts about vaccinations by signing up at EmergencySLO.org/en/newsletter.
If you need transportation to your vaccination appointment, call RTA Runabout at 805-541–2544 or Ride-On at 805-541-8747 to schedule a no-cost round-trip ride.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 12:57 PM.
