Fresno County announces vaccine site at fairgrounds, capable of 1,500 daily shots
Fresno County on Tuesday announced a large vaccine clinic at the Fresno County Fairgrounds capable of administering 1,500 shots a day, according to health officials.
In addition, health care workers are expected to administer as many as another 1,000 inoculations a day in conjunction with other sites partnering with the county, according to Dave Pomaville, director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
The clinic at the fairgrounds opened Monday and health care workers began to trickle in to get their shots, according to health officials.
Fresno County has received 44,000 vaccines through last week. That number does not include the number of vaccines that go straight to Kaiser Permanente, Adventist Health hospitals, Valley Children’s Hospital or the facilities in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs system.
The county has tallied 76,581 COVID-19 positive patients through Tuesday. There have been 846 deaths related to the virus in Fresno County.
County interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said starting this coming Monday, health officials will begin to offer vaccines to people 75 and older.
Only about half of Fresno County’s 58,000 health care workers have asked to be given a COVID-19 vaccine, according to health officials. That tracks with the same desire among the general population, officials have said.
“It’s a safe, effective vaccine,” Vohra said. “It’s really something that’s going to allow us to re-open everything that we want to re-open. This is the best shot we have.”
Supervisor Brian Pacheco said the county is working with clinics in Mendota, Firebaugh and others on the west side to distribute the shots to about 90,000 laborers beginning next week.
“It’s my pleasure today to announce that Fresno County will be the lead and it is our goal in the county to be the first county in the state of California to start vaccinating our essential farmworkers,” he said.
Laborers often live in multi-generational homes in tight spaces, making them and their families susceptible to spreading the virus, Pacheco said.
The county’s goal is to vaccinate 3,000 people a day and dispense the vaccine as fast as possible, health officials said, rather than to hold onto vaccines for the second round each person needs.
For some residents, a large clinic like at the fairgrounds may be the best option while others may need to get an inoculation from their primary care physician, according to Pomaville.
A registry is in the works, according to health officials, but in the meantime the best way for a person to know they can get a vaccine is to regularly check the county’s website.
Health officials recommend that anyone seeking a vaccine to register online first at fcdph.org/covid19vax. That website also answers frequently asked questions.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 3:01 PM.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story transposed two letters in the county website address. The correct address is fcdph.org/covid19vax
