San Joaquin County is now working to vaccinate those 65 and older.

And in a bid to reduce confusion about the vaccine endeavor as well as testing, the county has rolled out a webpage at www.SJReady.org  which is being used for eligible residents to register for a vaccine event.

 There is also a new San Joaquin County COVID-19 Vaccine Interest form, which will be accessible from www.SJReady.org for residents to express interest in receiving a vaccine.  Those who fill out an interest form will be contacted by the County when they become eligible to receive the vaccine. Thirty-one community partners have stepped up to provide vaccinations to Phase 1a priority groups including health care workers, long-term care patients, and those 65 and older.

The more robust and centralized information regarding vaccines was shared by County Health Officer Dr. Maggie Park during this week’s San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Park emphasized that the vaccine is available in limited quantities and that the County is committed to an equitable distribution of the vaccine where it will have the greatest impact. She said the 65+ population estimated to be vaccinated is 90,000 meaning 180,000 doses will be needed to vaccinate those individuals.

 With the limited quantity of vaccines, the County must further prioritize those who are most likely to develop severe symptoms or die from COVID-19. She said San Joaquin County is the only county in California to have developed modeling to calculate the risk scores for 89 percent of County residents to prioritize who would have the greatest benefit by receiving the vaccine and will move forward in identifying those individuals and communities that are most in need.

“We are committed to getting COVID-19 vaccines to the community as soon as possible, but with limited vaccines, we need to further prioritize those areas within the County where vaccination will have the greatest impact to reduce hospitalizations and deaths,” Park aid. “A strictly first-come-first-serve system will put at greater risk those that have comorbidities or reside in areas where COVID-19 outcomes are among the worst.”

There is a COVID Vaccination Clinic for San Joaquin County Veterans 65 years and older on Saturday, Jan. 30, and Sunday, Jan. 31, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pre-Registration is required at https://sugeni.us/WgZY

The clinic is for San Joaquin County Veterans aged 65 and older only. Veteran identification and age verification will be done before entering the site. Only those that have signed up through this service will be admitted into the clinic.