As of Tuesday, April 6, Riverside County is offering coronavirus vaccines to residents 16 years and older, nine days before the state would plan it, officials announced Monday.
“The expansion of fitness will enable the last large group of adults in Riverside County to be vaccinated and bring us one step closer to herd immunity,” said Kim Saruwatari, director of the country’s provincial health. said a news release. “Bringing the vaccine to a younger population, where we have an increase in cases, is a big step forward.”
In the same release, supervisor Karen Spiegel said: “There is now more vaccination available, and the opening admission will move us even further towards our goal of vaccinating the majority of our residents.”
Sixteen and 17-year-olds eligible for the Pfizer vaccine must be accompanied by a parent or guardian after their vaccination, the news release said. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available for 18-year-olds.
At the end of March, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that those aged 16 and over would be able to be vaccinated from 15 April. Californians 50 years and older were eligible on April 1, and Riverside County allows those in certain occupations – workers and grocery stores for example – to be vaccinated, in addition to people 16 years and older with underlying health conditions such as cancer or severe obesity, making them particularly vulnerable to serious illness or death due to COVID-19.
Riverside County currently operates four vaccine clinics, located in the Albert A. Chatigny S. Community Recreation Center in Beaumont. Tahquitz High School in Hemet, Heritage High School in Menifee and the Moreno Valley Mall. The province also supplies the vaccine at six community health centers run by its Riverside University Health System.
More than 1 million doses of vaccine have already been administered in the country, giving last Wednesday a millionth chance. As of Monday, 31.8% of residents aged 16 and over had been partially or completely vaccinated, with 17.4% fully vaccinated, according to the Riverside University Health System – Public Health.
Visit www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine to get vaccinated. 65-year-olds and parents who need help making an appointment can call 211 or 951-329-4703. According to the province, the current 211 waiting time is less than 5 minutes.