State dramatically expands virus vaccine eligibility in Kern County

California has dramatically expanded who is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Kern County.

In an effort to distribute vaccines to those communities that have been most impacted by COVID-19, the state announced that it was increasing the ranks of those who are eligible by ZIP code.

The upshot is that as of Monday, everyone in Kern over the age of 16 is eligible for the vaccine with the exception of six ZIP codes, according to the Kern County Public Health Services Department. This can also include family members accompanying people to a vaccine appointment, depending on supply and the discretion of the provider.

There are six ZIP codes in Kern County that don’t qualify: 93311, 93312, 93314, 93561, 93531 and 93287. Those ZIP codes include one in Southwest Bakersfield, two in Northwest Bakersfield, Tehachapi, Keene and Woody. All 43 other ZIP codes in the county qualify.

Those ZIP codes are based on data from the California Healthy Places Index, which takes into account a community’s health along with other factors that influence that health such as the environment, education and housing. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that those living in ZIP codes that rank in the bottom two quartiles are now eligible for the vaccine. That’s most of Kern

County, which overall ranks at the 12.5 percentile.

Many of the ZIP codes in the bottom half are in the Central Valley and Inland Empire. That’s also the part of the state that lags in vaccinations, according to a recent review by The Californian. Marin County, which leads the state in vaccinations, ranks at the

100th percentile in the Healthy Places index.

Jay Tamsi, co-founder of the Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force, said that the eligibility opening up to a wider range of residents will make a big impact on the community.

“It’s an exciting feeling,” he said. “This is a sign of hope.”

So far, eligibility has been largely determined by age, occupation or those with vulnerable conditions or living situations.

Tamsi encouraged everyone to go out and get the vaccine, including the young and healthy. He said some studies showed that latinx teens are one group most likely to get COVID-19. He also recommended that athletes who had returned to the field get vaccinated as well, along with their families.

Michelle Corson, spokeswoman for Kern County Public Health Services, said that the department has heard from the state that vaccine allotment would be increasing in the coming weeks but there weren’t any other specifics.

The state had recently announced that it was planning to allocate 40 percent of vaccine doses to those who live in the bottom quartile of the Healthy Equity Index.

Corson added that the Kern County Fairgrounds mass vaccination center is averaging 1,700 doses each day and it fills its appointments, though at a slower rate in the last few weeks.

“We continue to advocate for more vaccine, especially with lower quartiles opening for vaccinations,” she wrote in an email.

Eva Ramirez, spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente, announced that Kern County residents in the newly-eligible ZIP codes can walk in to get vaccinated at Cal State Bakersfield’s new COVID-19 Vaccine Hub. The hub has enough doses to vaccinate 2,000 people every day for the next several days.

“While we have not heard specifically what our future vaccine allocation will be, we are hopeful we will receive adequate allocation of vaccine from the third party administrator (Blue Shield) as the tiers open,” Ramirez wrote in an email.

The Kern health department added that while all residents who live in the eligible ZIP codes can now get vaccinated, the state’s MyTurn system has not been updated to reflect the recent expansion.

To assist, Kern Public Health has launched a page on its website that allows residents to enter their home address to see if they reside in one of the eligible quartiles. If so, they will receive a sign-in code to use for scheduling a vaccine appointment in MyTurn at the Kern County Fairgrounds Mass Vaccination Clinic.

To access the county’s website page and enter your home address, follow this link online: https://bit.ly/3sMzLiZ.