Beginning March 15, the state of California will make the COVID-19 vaccine available to people between the ages of 16 and 64 who have a serious underlying health condition or who are at risk for developmental disability or other serious disabilities.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency, said this would add about 4-6 million people to the approximately 13 million Californians who are already eligible for the vaccine.
This includes people with the following conditions:
- Cancer, current with weakened or immunocompromised state
- Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or higher
- Chronic lung disease, oxygen dependent
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) due to an organ transplant
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies (excluding hypertension)
- Seriously overweight (Body Mass Index ≥ 40 kg / m2)
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus with a hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5%
Currently eligible for the vaccine in California are health workers, long-term residents, people over 65, and those working in the education and childcare, emergency services, and food and agriculture sectors.
However, in San Luis Obispo County, only health professionals and people 65 and older are eligible to apply for COVID-19 vaccine appointments at this time, and in Santa Barbara County, appointments are limited to health workers and people 75 and older . The province’s public health officials have attributed a lack of vaccine supply to the limited appointments.
Santa Barbara County plans to extend vaccination appointments to people between the ages of 65 and 74 starting Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Van Do-Reynoso, the county’s director of public health, said Friday that Santa Barbara County will also make vaccine appointments for the disabled and those with underlying conditions on March 16, when they qualify, according to the state. She said those in the education and childcare, emergency services and food and agriculture sectors will be next, but did not give a specific date.