SLO County to start vaccinating people 65 and older for coronavirus
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department will start vaccinating residents ages 65 and older, the agency announced Wednesday, opening up the vaccines to more than 38,000 county residents.
The Public Health Department announced residents age 65 and older can now start reserving appointments to get their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The move comes at the recommendation of the local Vaccine Task Force and is based on current vaccine supply and the risk of serious outcomes from coronavirus, according to a news release Wednesday afternoon.
Eligible residents can reserve an appointment for next week starting on 9 a.m. Thursday.
Because there is limited vaccine supply, appointments will be limited, but more could become available on weekday mornings as supply allows, according to the news release.
Because of the limited supply, Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein urged those who are eligible for the vaccine to consider whether they can continue to safely shelter at home and let those more at risk of serious health outcomes get appointments first.
“Everyone in SLO County will have a chance to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but those at higher risk should get their shot first,” Borenstein said in the release.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department runs three vaccination clinics — at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, the Paso Robles Event Center in Paso Robles and Arroyo Grande High School in Arroyo Grande.
The county expects to administer more than 6,100 doses at its clinics next week, but expects it will only be able to offer about 2,000 first dose appointments at its San Luis Obispo clinic.
It also expects to only have about 500 second-dose appointments at the San Luis Obispo clinic for those who have already received the Pfizer vaccine, and only about 1,900 second-doses of Moderna available at the Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles clinics.
“Community members over 65 now have their turn to get vaccinated, but, unfortunately, we have very few appointments available at this time,” Borenstein said. “We’ve made great progress in administering the vaccine we have and hope our future vaccine allocation from the state will allow us to continue to protect more members of our community.”
Where to get a COVID-19 test and schedule a vaccine appointment
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department is urging anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, or those who have come into contact with someone with the virus, to get tested.
Free coronavirus testing is available at clinics throughout San Luis Obispo County. To make an appointment, visit emergencySLO.org/testing; you can register by phone at 888-634-1123.
As of Wednesday, the county Public Health Department is administering coronavirus vaccines to people in Phase 1A and Phase 1B by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment visit RecoverSLO.org or call 805-543-2444.
Appointment schedules will be announced on weekdays around 9 a.m. as appointments become available on RecoverSLO.org and via county email alerts.
To sign up for email alerts visit EmergencySLO.org/en/newsletter.aspx.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 3:53 PM.
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