Santa Barbara County Health officials announced Friday afternoon that they will make vaccination appointments for workers in education and childcare, agriculture and food, and emergency services starting March 1.
Those sectors are included in the state’s Phase 1 B vaccination plan, including people 65 and older.
So far, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties have only opened vaccinations to people over 65, along with health workers and long-term care residents, who are in Phase 1A.
“I feel a bit for that [SLO County Health Officer] Dr. Borenstein in that situation because everyone is like, we are now open, we can vaccinate this group and the counties cannot, ”said Christine Williams, president of the Atascadero District Teachers Association.
San Luis Obispo County Health officials say more than 22,000 people have been vaccinated so far in the county, nearly a quarter of whom have already received their second dose.
“It’s something I hear a lot from our members and from people who either want to have their own vaccine or, if anyone is in doubt, they still want their colleagues to have access to it,” 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 educator vaccines and wants to change that in the future.
“As of March 1, we will not only do this through our third-party administrator, but will also be setting aside 10% of all first doses,” said the Newsom government.
According to James Brescia, Superintendent of the San Luis Obispo County Education Office, the health department is working with local schools and day care centers to fulfill this request.
“All agencies will prioritize the in-person staff for vaccination when the assigned vaccination slots become available,” he said.
As some local school districts begin to open up, teachers think the vaccine will be the key to staying open.
“For some people, because of the health risk of their loved one or their own, vaccination will alleviate some of that and again, it’s not all. I have many educators sitting in classrooms with medical risks who if they have to contact with COVID, is a scary proposition, ”said Williams.
While some other counties have already begun to vaccinate teachers and farm workers, health officials in Santa Barbara County say they feel they got their fair share of vaccine doses.
“For a large county, they typically have more hospital systems with multiple counties getting their supplemental vaccines, they have – perhaps because of their large population and demographics – they receive direct federal partnerships through CFS and Rite-Aids, so it really all comes down to the number of vaccines and the resources that exist in that county, ”said Van Do-Reynoso, Santa Barbara County’s director of health.
Do-Reynoso says the province only learned last week that it will start receiving at least 500 doses per week as part of a federal partnership allocation in addition to the doses she has received from the state, and she expects several streams of vaccines to enter the province. .