Yolo County expands vaccine eligibility to those 16-plus

Yolo County opened up COVID-19 vaccination doses to all residents 16-plus Tuesday, two days before California’s expansion.

Yolo County opened up COVID-19 vaccination doses to all residents 16plus Tuesday, two days before California’s expansion scheduled for Thursday.

In addition to the expansion of who can get doses, all residents will be able to sign up for vaccination appointments through the MyTurn system.

“With vaccine supply remaining limited, we didn’t expect to open up appointments to all adults early, but we had appointments for 50+ going unfilled last week. These safe and effective vaccines are too precious to leave sitting in freezers,” stated Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson. “The vaccine is our ticket back to normal, and I encourage everyone 16 and older to get vaccinated as soon as they can. The sooner we reach herd immunity, the more protected we all will be against more infectious variant strains.”

As of Monday, a total of 140,390 vaccine doses have been distributed in Yolo County, according to state dashboards. This number includes both first and second doses.

This week, the County is planning three public first dose clinics, including:

• Wednesday at the Herbert Bauer M.D. Building in Woodland

• Thursday at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento

• Friday at UC Davis’ Visitor Parking Lot 1 in Davis

Pfizer is the only vaccine currently approved for residents who are 16 and 17 years old. All other vaccines have been approved for those 18-plus. Friday’s clinic at UC Davis will be distributing the Pfizer vaccine.

To sign up for these slots and those at pharmacies and healthcare providers, residents must register for a vaccine appointment through myturn.ca.gov. Residents who do not have internet access or who need assistance registering an appointment through MyTurn can call the state’s COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255 to speak directly with operators in English or Spanish and access an additional 254 languages via third-party translators.

Residents can also call 211 Yolo or toll-free at for vaccine information or if they need an in-home vaccine. The vaccine is completely free for everyone regardless of health care insurance and does not require eligibility verification.

As part of a statewide directive, Yolo County began transitioning to the state’s MyTurn system in February, first allowing residents to be notified when they were eligible for vaccination and now expanding its use to allow residents to book an appointment.

Following trial periods in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, the state has since begun to expand usage of MyTurn to all county and health care vaccine providers. The transition to MyTurn will allow for a centralized registration system for scheduling vaccine appointments, stated Yolo County Public Information Officer Jenny Tan.

In late March, Yolo County conducted a successful pilot vaccine clinic using MyTurn. As of April 9, vaccine providers are able to limit appointment access to those living or working in a specific county, ensuring that Yolo County’s limited vaccine supply will be used by people connected to Yolo County.

Residents should continue following public health guidance even after they’ve been vaccinated, including wearing a face covering in public, practicing physical distancing, avoiding large gatherings and opting for outdoor activities to continue to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

For more information about Yolo County’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution process, visit www.yolocounty.org/coronavirusvaccine.