Santa Barbara County Could Start Vaccinating People Age 65+ Next Week
State expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility; Public Health Department expects to open mass vaccination community sites in the spring
Healthcare workers at Lompoc Valley Medical Center get COVID-19 vaccines in early January. (Lompoc Valley Medical Center photo) By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Managing Editor | @magnoli
January 13, 2021
| 6:34 p.m.
The first batches of COVID-19 vaccines have been given mostly to healthcare workers, but a large group of community members could start getting access next week: people over the age of 65.
Santa Barbara County follows California’s phased system for vaccine distribution, and is on the cusp of finishing the first priority groups of healthcare workers, emergency medical services workers, and staff and residents of long-term care facilities like skilled nursing homes.