Riverside County’s new public health officer sends plea to get vaccinated

Riverside County's new Public Health Officer, Dr. Geoffrey Leung, is making a plea for anyone who's eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine.

As News Channel 3's Dani Romero reports Dr. Geoffrey Leung spoke with reporters on Friday for the first time since taking the county's top job fighting the pandemic.

“Make no mistake we are in a race to get as many people vaccinated in our county as possible," said Dr. Leung.

The rush to vaccinate is a race to save lives, our new county Public Health Officer, Dr. Leung, is making a push to get coronavirus vaccines into the arms of as many people who are eligible. 

He said appointments are no longer a concern.  

“We currently do have available appointments across the county," said Dr. Leung. "We know that many people are eligible, who haven’t been vaccinated yet and this is really our chance to help with that vaccine hesitancy."

Filling up those appointment slots has been a challenge not only here in Riverside County but also across the state.

So, why didn’t the county decide to expand the eligibility sooner? 

“We want to stay in with the state’s recommendations whether that's COVID vaccinations or with reopening," Dr. Leung added.

Dr. Leung explained that the county isn’t letting any COVID vaccine go to waste.

“When we have an idea of how many people are going to come in that determines how much vaccine we will thaw or prepare in advance," said Dr. Leung.

They have also started a rapid on-call list for unused doses at the end of each day. Its not guaranteed, but you can email customer service at rivco.vaccines@RUhealth.org

Now that California is expanding eligibility for the vaccine, is the county ready?

“We believe we are," said Dr. Leung. "We think that there will be a surge in demand at the start so probably on April 1st, we’ll see a lot of demand that may tapir gradually. " Then again in the middle of the month on April 15th when that eligibility changes again.” 

Still, the county will try to make the vaccine distribution equitable. They are hoping to double the number of mobile teams. 

The county is looking at other resources ,like home health agencies, for seniors struggling with on-line appointments and getting to vaccination clinics. 

"If we can also help them become approved COVID vaccine providers thats just one example of leveraging," said Dr. Leung.