Public health officials in Santa Bárbara County announced on Friday afternoon that they will open vaccination appointments for workers in education and daycare, agriculture and food, and emergency services from March 1.
These sectors are included in the state’s Phase 1 B vaccination plan, including people aged 65 and over.
So far, Santa Bárbara and San Luis Obispo counties have opened vaccines only for people over 65, along with health professionals and long-term residents, who are in Phase 1A.
“I kind of feel for [SLO County Health Officer] Dr. Borenstein is in this situation because everyone likes it, we are open now, we can vaccinate this group and the counties cannot, ”said Christine Williams, President of the Atascadero District Teachers Association.
Public health officials in San Luis Obispo County say more than 22,000 people have been vaccinated in the county so far, with almost a quarter of them receiving the second dose.
“It is something I hear a lot from our members and from people who want their own vaccines or if someone is not sure if they still want their colleagues to have access to them,” said Cody King, president of the Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that only 35 of California’s 58 counties are prioritizing vaccines for educators and he wants to change that in the future.
“As of March 1, we are not only doing this through our third-party administrator, but also reserving 10% of all first doses,” said Governor Newsom.
According to James Brescia, superintendent of the San Luis Obispo County Education Office, the health department is working with local schools and daycare centers to implement this request.
“All agencies are prioritizing face-to-face vaccination staff when allocated vaccination vacancies are available,” he said.
As some local school districts are starting to open, teachers believe that the vaccine will be the key to staying open.
“For some people, because of the health risk of their loved ones or of themselves, vaccination will alleviate some of that and, again, it is not the only thing. I have many educators who are in classrooms with medical risks that they were contacting COVID is a scary proposition, ”said Williams.
While some other counties have already started vaccinating teachers and farm workers, health officials in Santa Barbara County say they are getting their fair share of doses of the vaccine.
“For a large county, typically, they have more multi-county hospital systems that receive their additional vaccines, they have – perhaps because of their large population and demographics – they receive direct federal partnerships via CVS and Rite-AIDS, so really it all boils down to the number of vaccines and the sources that exist in that municipality, “said Van Do-Reynoso, Santa Barbara County Public Health Director.
Do-Reynoso says the county learned last week that it will begin receiving at least 500 doses a week as part of a federal partnership allocation, in addition to the doses received from the state, and she expects to see different vaccine flows arriving in the county.