Dr. Ian Hoffman and Director of Public Health Michele Stephens on a Zoom conference call this afternoon.
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In a call from Zoom to reporters this afternoon, Dr. Ian Hoffman, a county health officer, said the county is ready to start distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to be given to local residents aged 75 and over.
Starting next week, said Hoffman, local health providers and the county’s Public Health Division itself will announce details on how people in that age group can apply for the vaccine.
“We met with all of the local health leaders today to alert them to this plan,” said Hoffman. “They are aware that we will open Phase 1B. They have been preparing for this for weeks. They are aware that, in the coming days and weeks, they will increase their clinics and send information to patients so they know when and where they can get the vaccine ”.
The Public Health Division and its partners will take care of vaccination for people without current health professionals, said Hoffman.
Unlike some other locations in the state, this next phase of the vaccination calendar will not include people aged 65-74. Earlier this week, the state’s public health department announced that this younger cohort will now be eligible to receive their vaccines. But Hoffman and his colleague Michele Stephens, the county’s director of public health, said there was not yet enough vaccine available locally to open consultations for this group.
Hoffman and Stephens underlined the fact that different counties in California are running their vaccination schedules at different rates – not only because of the availability of the vaccine, but because the demographic and professional makeup of each county is different.
“Jurisdictions that are passing to teachers now – maybe they’ve already completed Phase 1A some time ago because they don’t have as many
[healthcare professionals], ”Said Stephens, in response to a question. “We don’t really know the specifics of each municipality. It is logical that there would be some variation between counties and jurisdictions for that reason. “
Humboldt County is soon due to receive vaccines on an accelerated schedule, Hoffman said. Local authorities have been informed that they will soon receive about 3,000 weekly doses.
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