What you should know when Riverside County moves into the next phase of coronavirus vaccinations
As of January 18th, the county is vaccinating people in phase 1B, tier one, for COVID-19. For workers in phase 1A and 1B an appointment and worker ID badge or letter from place of employment is required to get vaccination. For those 65 of age and older, an appointment and ID is required. All people are able to get the vaccine without insurance if they don't have it.
Once the county moves to phase 1C, people 50-64 years of age, people 16-64 who have underlying health conditions or a disability that increases their risk of getting COVID-19, and other essential workers are able to get vaccinated.
Those 50-64 years old are able to show an ID at the time of vaccination as proof. Those 16-64 will be told to go another route. Brooke Federico is the Riverside County public information officer. "What ideally we would like to see is that those individuals get vaccinated by their primary care provider because that is the physician that has their medical conditions and history to be able to verify," said Federico. Once the county reaches this point, they will let the public know the best form of proof to show your health history if you qualify under this phase and do not have insurance or a primary care doctor to provide you with the vaccine.Other essential workers are also able to get vaccinated under phase 1C. This includes:
- workers in water and waste
- defense
- energy
- chemical and hazardous materials
- communications and IT
- financial services
- government operations
- community based essential functions
These essential workers would show a pay stub or work ID to show that where they work allows them to get the vaccine in that phase.
Officials expect phase 1C to begin sometime in March and after this phase will be the rest of the general public 16 and older. This last phase is expected sometime in June. “We have extremely limited doses which is why we have these phases and these tiers to be able to vaccinate," said Federico.
News Channel 3's Taban Sharifi will have details on what you should know if you are in those waiting for 1C, what kind of proof you will need, and what kind of time frame we are looking at to reach this next phase. Tune in tonight, all new at 6 p.m. on KESQ News Channel 3.
