States given green light to vaccinate anyone 65 and older, those at ‘high risk’

The federal government announced Tuesday that states can now vaccinate people older than 65 and those in the 'high risk' category. 

News Channel 3 reached out to our local health officials to see how this will impact their vaccine rollout plan. 

Riverside County Public Health says people 75 and up could start getting vaccinated as early as next week. But before we can move to the next phase, Riverside County will need more vaccine supply.

This new announcement was made because there are parts of the country where they had more doses than people eligible or willing to get a shot.

"When people are ready to get vaccinated, we’re going to move right on to the next level, so that there are not vaccine doses that are sitting in a freezer or refrigerator where they could be getting into people’s arms,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday. 

Riverside County Public Health says they are also working on setting up more vaccination clinics. The are also working to create “super pods” -- places where hundreds could get vaccinated. 

Local seniors say even if their spot in the vaccination line moves up, they’re concerned about people in their phase not getting that information. 

"The majority of seniors are not getting their information from the internet. They are just not internet savvy or internet literate, as its been called," said Bill Miller, a local senior.

The county says they’ll most likely work closely with community partners -- like churches, local senior groups or other organizations to help.