Nearly all SLO County vaccinated residents receiving second dose within four weeks

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department is reporting nearly all of the residents that have received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine are receiving a second dose within a four-week period.

The County said more than 90 percent of residents that have received a first dose have had a second dose administered within four weeks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the recommended timeline to receive a second dose after the first one is 21 days for the Pfizer vaccine, and 28 days for the Moderna vaccine.

"We've done about 90 percent of our second doses within four weeks, which is the recommended amount of time for the Moderna vaccine," said Michelle Shoresman, San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department spokesperson. "You can get your second dose anywhere between three-to-six weeks for the Pfizer and between four-to-six weeks for the Moderna, but most ours are coming in right round four weeks."

The Public Health Department has reported a total of 22,742 people have been vaccinated, with 5,656 of them that have received a second dose.

“We are reaching out to people who are eligible for their second dose in the order they got their first dose,” said San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein added. “Please don’t worry if you haven’t heard from us yet—you will, and we will get you that second dose in a safe and timely manner.”

Next week, the County is administering second doses at all three of its vaccination clinics, at Cuesta College, Arroyo Grande High School and the Paso Robles Event Center.

Due to extreme winter weather in many parts of the United States, shipment of vaccine to San Luis Obispo County may impact some second dose appointments next week.

"Based on our expectations, weather pending, it looks to be a good week for us, but as we've seen in other locations, there has been weather delays on vaccine shipments," said Shoresman. "We think we've planned accordingly for that, but there could a possibility for some changes next week depending on those shipments coming in."

For more information about San Luis Obispo County vaccinations efforts, visit RecoverSLO.org/vaccine.