One more central San Joaquin Valley county opens vaccine eligibility to all adults
Kings County is the third county in the central San Joaquin Valley to drop age and occupation restrictions for COVID-19 vaccines, opening up eligibility to any adult who wants to get a shot.
Starting Wednesday, anyone age 16 and older can get the two-dose Pfizer vaccine that became available in mid-December; eligibility for two other vaccines – the two-dose product manufactured by Moderna and a single-shot vaccine from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson – is available to anyone age 18 and older.
“With the supply of vaccine becoming more stable, we are able to proceed ahead of the state’s strategy lifting the current restrictions in place to expand eligibility,” said Edward Hill, director of the Kings County Department of Public Health.
Kings County’s expansion comes a little more than a week before California will open up its statewide vaccine guidance to allow anyone 16 and older to get a shot. Kings County residents can use the state’s MyTurn system to register for an appointment; those without internet access can call 833-422-4255.
The Tulare County Department of Health & Human Services last week opened up its mass-vaccination site at the International Agri Center in Tulare to provide shots to anyone age 16 and older. The Madera County Department of Public Health also expanded its eligibility for vaccines last week to anyone 16 and older who lives or works in Madera County to register and get their shot.
Since the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in December and the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine was authorized in late February, Kings County has lagged behind the rest of the central San Joaquin Valley and all other California counties in the percentage of residents who have received shots.
The state Department of Public Health reported Wednesday that less than 9% of Kings County’s overall population has been fully vaccinated – either receiving both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna product or one dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine. About 43,000 vaccine doses have been administered in Kings County, and about 15,000 residents are fully vaccinated.
The vaccine status in other Valley counties includes:
- Fresno County: 452,029 doses administered to residents, 166,931 fully vaccinated, or 15.3% of the population.
- Madera County: 63,793 doses administered to residents, 24,490 fully vaccinated, or 14.5% of the population.
- Mariposa County: 6,456 doses administered to residents, 2,343 fully vaccinated, or 13.1% of the population.
- Merced County: 102,915 doses administered to residents, 35,295 fully vaccinated, or 11.9% of the population.
- Tulare County: 188,337 doses administered to residents, 71,583 fully vaccinated, or 14.0% of the population.
- Statewide, more than 7.7 million residents are fully vaccinated, or about 18.3% of California’s population.
California’s current vaccine eligibility guidelines allow anyone over the age of 50 to get vaccinated, or anyone over the age of 16 if they have serious underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk for complications from COVID-19. Eligibility also remains open to people who work in prioritized industries or occupations, including health care, emergency services, education and child care, agriculture and food industries including farm labor and grocery and restaurant workers, transportation, and utility workers who respond to emergencies.
