Riverside County is reporting that supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine have increased dramatically in recent days and they can now vaccinate more people at area clinics. It is estimated that half of Riverside County residents are now eligible for the vaccine. Those include the following:
Phase 1A:
- Healthcare workers
- Long-term care residents
Phase 1B:
- Individuals 65 and older
Sector populations:
- Agriculture and food
- Education and childcare
- Emergency services
Other State Approved Categories:
- Public transit workers
- Janitorial/Custodial service workers
- Congregate residential setting workers and residents
Individuals 16-64 of age with underlying medical conditions or disabilities, such as
- Cancer, current with debilitated or immunocompromised state
- Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or above
- Chronic pulmonary disease, oxygen dependent
- Down syndrome
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies (excludes hypertension)
- Severe obesity (Body Mass Index ≥ 40 kg/m2)
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus with hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5%
OR
If as a result of a developmental or other severe high-risk disability one or more of the following applies:
- The individual is likely to develop severe life-threatening illness or death from COVID-19 infection
- Acquiring COVID-19 will limit the individual’s ability to receive ongoing care or services vital to their well-being and survival
- Providing adequate and timely COVID care will be particularly challenging as a result of the individual’s disability
If you are eligible due to underlying health conditions, please know that to protect confidentiality, verification documentation of the diagnosis or type of disability is not required but instead anyone meeting the eligibility requirements will be asked to sign a self-attestation that they meet the criteria for high-risk medical conditions or disabilities.
Besides contacting your medical provider to schedule your vaccine, the best appointment site to schedule your vaccination in Riverside County is https://www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine. You may also call 2-1-1 on any phone inside Riverside County to book an appointment.
