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Ventura County turning people away if not eligible for Phase 1A of vaccine rollout

Ventura County Fairgrounds vaccine rollout
Ventura County Fairgrounds vaccine rollout

VENTURA, Calif. - Ventura County said it is still in Phase 1A in the vaccine rollout, and anyone who shows up that is not eligible in this phase will be turned away.

Right now Ventura County is in phase 1A of the vaccine rollout, which includes health care workers and people in long-term care facilities.

“We estimate that this first phase will be for the next couple of weeks and then after that we will be moving into phase 1B,” said Barry Zimmerman, who is the Chief Deputy Director of Ventura County Health Care Agency.

A lot of people who aren't eligible in phase 1A are still trying to get an appointment. And there was more confusion after Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week that California would open vaccines to everyone 65 and older. That is not the case in Ventura County, but a lot of people in that age group were still able to register for an appointment online.

“So those individuals that registered and are not eligible in this current phase, we ask them to cancel their appointment,” said Zimmerman. “If they do show up, we are turning them away.”

People will be asked to show ID as well as documentation proving they're eligible. People from surrounding counties have also tried to get in, but it hasn't worked. Once an appointment is canceled, another opens up.

“There has been plenty of demand and people are checking the website regularly,” said Zimmerman. “So as appointments become available then another person can fill that spot.”

As of Friday just under 23,000 people had received the first dose of the vaccine. Moving forward the county will handle phase 1B a bit differently.

“We are going to target 75-year-olds and older first to give them a priority since they are one of the most at risk populations,” said Zimmerman. “We will want to have the older community be able to secure some appointments, and then we will be rolling out broader to the senior community— the 65 and older.”

The county will create a hotline to help the older generation schedule the appointments, instead of going online.

Ventura County also experts to add another vaccination site in Thousand Oaks by the end of the week.

People can check out their vaccination status by clicking here. People can also register for updates when their group is eligible for vaccinations.

Article Topic Follows: Ventura County

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