As of March 15, the state of California is approving the COVID-19 vaccine for people between the ages of 16 and 64 who have a serious underlying health condition or are at risk due to a developmental or other severe disability.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, said it would add about 4-6 million people to the approximately 13 million Californians already eligible to receive the vaccine.
This will include people with the following conditions:
- Cancer, currently with weakened or immunocompromised condition
- Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or higher
- Chronic lung disease, oxygen dependent
- Immuno-compromised state (weakened immune system) due to solid organ transplantation
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy (excludes hypertension)
- Severe obesity (body mass index ≥ 40 kg / m2)
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus with a hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5%
Health workers, long-term carers, people aged 65 and over, and those currently eligible in the education and childcare, emergency services, and food and agriculture sectors.
In San Luis Obispo County, only health workers and people 65 years and older are eligible to sign up for COVID-19 vaccine appointments at the moment, and in Santa Barbara County, appointments are limited to health workers and people 75 years and older. Public health officials in the province attributed the limited appointments to the lack of vaccine.
Santa Barbara County plans to address vaccinations for people between the ages of 65 and 74 from Tuesday, February 16th.
Van Do-Reynoso, the county’s director of public health, said Friday that Santa Barbara County will also open vaccine appointments for the disabled and those with underlying conditions on March 16 when eligible by state. She said those in the education and childcare, emergency services, food and agriculture sectors would be next, but gave no specific date.