COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility Opens to All Adults on April 15

COVID-19
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By edhat staff

The State of California will expand its COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone over the age of 16 on April 15.

Governor Gavin Newsom made the announcement on Thursday stating he expects the state to receive 2.5 million doses a week in the first half of April and more than 3 million a week in the second half of the month. Currently, the state is receiving about 1.8 million doses per week.

On April 1, all California residents age 50 and up will be eligible to receive the vaccine. On April 15, the eligibility will then be open to all residents age 16 and up.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department stated this is "exciting news" and is now taking appointments for anyone 50 years of age or older at the Community Vaccination Clinics in Lompoc starting March 28 through April 3.

“We are very excited to expand eligibility to more community members, beginning with the County Public Health Community Vaccination Clinics,” says Van Do-Reynoso, County Public Health Director. “Locally we have seen a promising increase in our vaccine supply and Public Health is ready to welcome community members newly eligible for vaccination.”

All eligible community members can sign up for a vaccine appointment by registering online at the Public Health Website or by calling 2-1-1 and pressing option 4 for assistance. The call center is open 7 days a week from 9a.m. – 5p.m. These clinics will only be administering first-dose Pfizer vaccines at this time.

Newsom pledged to continue targeting underserved communities by working with community partners and health providers to reach essential workers.

As vaccine supplies increase throughout the nation, states have continued to relax guidelines and open up vaccine eligibility. As of March 15, California allowed residents aged 16-64 to receive the vaccine if they are at a higher risk of serious COVID-19 illness. Before that, eligibility was determined by age and specific occupations.

[Ed Note: This article has been updated with new information from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department]

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notme
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Mar 25, 2021 01:40 PM
COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility Opens to All Adults on April 15

The problem is lack of vaccines. I've been technically "eligible" since March 15th, but the lack of vaccines means the County is still working on 65+ and people who work in certain jobs, and hasn't moved on to people under 65 with health problems. My doctor put me on the waiting list, but I'm told it's quite long. As one of our large medical facilities said on their web site,

"Unfortunately just because the county announces new groups of people are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination does not mean that we have received more vaccine to give out. The COVID-19 vaccine supply for those who became eligible as a result of occupation or comorbidities is also limited, similar to the supply for the 65+ group. It is expected that the availability of the vaccine will increase over time and there should be sufficient supply for all adults to get vaccinated later in 2021."

It was announced yesterday that SB County would be getting more vaccines soon, but the distribution is starting in the North County. Right now, the best bet for South County is CVS or Rite Aid (or even Ventura County if you have a health issue). I have an appointment at a local CVS this Saturday for shot #1. Just keep checking.

a-1616957917
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Mar 28, 2021 11:58 AM
COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility Opens to All Adults on April 15

Sooner rather than later works better for me, too. I got an appointment for Monday afternoon. At first glance, the appointments appeared full on the website, until I realized you could scroll down to see later appointments.

justso
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Mar 28, 2021 08:05 PM
COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility Opens to All Adults on April 15

I just checked the Rite aide website for vaccinations. They have plenty of Moderna times available on April third.

CVS has several available in Goleta for first does Pfizer. Just go to their website and sign up. March 29th is the date.

Basicinfo805
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Mar 28, 2021 08:42 PM
COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility Opens to All Adults on April 15

This whole vaccination scheme that our state and county has rolled out has been pretty darn lame. The best way to score a vaccine has been to hassle online or outright lie your way into an appointment, although finally it looks like that may be changing. It's not surprising, our infrastructure for handling this type of public health urgency is sadly very poor. But hey, let's just hope in the end all those who are smart enough to get the vaccine whenever they can get it will do so, and those who are skeptical, well... maybe you can donate to a cause or something too offset your burden to society for being an outlier and not supporting herd immunity/science. Or not, if you wish. It's all good either way.

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