Want to get a COVID vaccine at a pharmacy? Here’s an easy way to find one in SLO County
San Luis Obispo County pharmacies are offering COVID-19 vaccines to local residents looking for an alternative to the Public Health Department’s lottery.
But do you have to call each location, one by one?
The good news is no.
Use the website VaccineFinder.org/search to search pharmacies within a set distance from your home. When you find one with available doses, you can call for an appointment.
These local pharmacies are administering vaccines:
- Vons or Albertsons
- Ralphs
- Cayucos Pharmacy
- CVS
- Rite Aid
- Costco Pharmacy
- Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (CHC)
Pharmacies may ask for your health insurance to pay for administrative costs, but they should not charge you for a vaccine otherwise, according to Public Health Officer Dr. Borenstein.
This week, the county said new state guidelines opened an additional 40,000 people to vaccine eligibility.
If you are 65 years or older, or work in education, childcare, food, agriculture, emergency services, public transit or janitorial services, you are eligible for a vaccine.
Also, those ages 16 to 64 with serious health conditions can self-attest and receive vaccines now. That means no doctor’s note or medical documentation is required to make an appointment.
Qualifying health conditions include uncontrolled diabetes, morbid obesity, cancer patients undergoing cancer or in a debilitated state from the disease, sickle cell anemia, end-stage kidney disease, and pulmonary disease who are oxygen dependent.
In addition, people living in congregate living facilities, such as correctional facilities and homeless shelters, are also now available for the vaccine. Unhoused individuals not living in a shelter but who are at risk of living in a shelter also may be eligible for the vaccine.
And people who can self-attest that they are providing informal or unpaid care to someone vulnerable to serious COVID-19 side, may also be eligible for the vaccine.
How to get the vaccine through SLO County
To register for a vaccine appointment through the county, go to RecoverSLO.org/en/vaccine-registration.aspx. Once there, you’ll see a red button that says “Register Now.”
Click that, and you’ll be redirected to the county’s vaccine appointment registry.
If you do not have access to the internet or have trouble registering online, call the county’s phone assistance center at (805) 543-2444 or (805) 781-4280.
These vaccine appointments are for those needing their first dose only. If you have already received your first dose, the county will contact you about scheduling that second-dose appointment.
Vaccines are being administered at the following county locations:
- San Luis Obispo: Cuesta College (Harold J. Miossi Cultural and Performing Arts Center)
- Paso Robles: Paso Robles Event Center
- Arroyo Grande: South County Regional Center at 800 W Branch St.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Want to get a COVID vaccine at a pharmacy? Here’s an easy way to find one in SLO County."
