Ventura expands vaccine access

Ventura County is now vaccinating farmworkers against COVID-19 as part of a pilot program geared toward the region’s large agricultural sector.

The move precedes the vaccination of additional essential workers, who will be eligible next week.

At that time, county officials will extend access to occupational groups that are part of California’s Phase 1B vaccination tier; in addition to farm and agricultural workers, this includes teachers, child-care providers and first responders.

More than 100 farmworkers at Good Farms in Oxnard received a shot Friday, aided by Ventura County’s Farmworker Resource Program, which launched in 2019, Supervisor Carmen Ramirez said during a public briefing.

Services are provided in English, Spanish and Indigenous languages such as Mixteco, Zapoteco and Purépecha to ensure accessibility.

Mike Powers, Ventura County’s chief executive, said farmworkers have been on the front lines throughout the pandemic.

“These brave farmworkers are essential to our community, putting food on our table,” Powers said. “And they’ve continued to work this whole time. They didn’t have the opportunity to isolate or stay at home; they needed to continue to work for us. And so for them, we need to do this project, we need to bring this to them.”

Ventura County has administered 158,225 vaccine doses (including 45,256 second doses) — more than 15% of the local population, said Rigoberto Vargas, director of public health.

Supply remains limited, however, like elsewhere across the state and country. About 3,000 appointments were expected to open Monday, Vargas said.

Holding back tears, Ramirez said during Friday’s briefing that she had lost a brother to COVID-19 and urged farmworkers — and everyone else — to get the vaccine.

“Don’t let it happen to you,” said Ramirez, who represents Oxnard, among other Ventura County communities.

There are about 100,000 county residents who will become eligible for vaccinations as part of Phase 1B, Vargas said.

“That’s a lot of people with still limited supply,” he said, “so it’s ... going to take time” to vaccinate everyone in the group.

As they have in much of California, new coronavirus cases have declined in Ventura County. On Friday, there were slightly more than 140 new infections reported. That’s down from a peak of more than 1,800 on Jan. 4.