SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — COVID-19 vaccines were made available to everyone in California age 50 and older beginning Thursday, and will be available to everyone age 16 and up on April 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last Thursday.
The state has been receiving roughly 1.8 million doses a week, but the state anticipates receiving 2.5 million weekly doses by early April, then more than 3 million per week by the end of the month.
"With vaccine supply increasing and by expanding eligibility to more Californians, the light at the end of the tunnel continues to get brighter," Newsom said last week.
San Diego County has been receiving more vaccine doses daily and saw an increase of 23% from last week. According to the county, vaccination sites can handle 35,000 doses a day but have been administering only 12,500 per day.
“We have seen jumps in supply of vaccines but it’s not enough to meet the need and not enough to meet the capacity that we built out.“ said Nathan Fletcher, San Diego County Board of Supervisors
State and county officials expect more doses to arrive as they gear up for the next eligible group of residents 16 and older on April 15. But scheduling an appointment has been tricky for many.
It requires checking the myturn.ca.gov website or various pharmacy websites a few times a day. That frustration has led to a state-wide initiative by Black churches who are bringing free COVID-19 testing to their communities.
“We don’t have health insurance or [are] not capable of sitting in front of the computer to make appointments to save our lives,” said Rev Judi Worham, Tabernacle Comm Dev.
Vaccinations have increased in the underserved communities of the state but testing has not been not readily available until now. San Diego County health officer Wilma Wooten said testing is important as well as getting vaccinated with any available dose. She recently received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and urged others to do the same.
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