County Begins Vaccinating Food and Agriculture Workers
Having largely completed its efforts to vaccinate those working in the healthcare field and first responders, and making progress inoculating educators, licensed childcare providers, and those age 65 and older, the County will now accept appointments for food and agriculture workers.
“The County’s vaccination program is running smoothly; our main challenge is simply getting enough doses from the State to meet demand,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “We’ve devoted special resources to help seniors secure appointments, including establishing a dedicated call-in line and a customized web page, and we’ve successfully vaccinated tens of thousands of our older residents. Now we’re shifting our focus to the individuals who have been on the frontlines since the pandemic began: those helping ensure we all have the food we need.”
Workers in the food and agricultural industries can visit the vaccination section of the County’s COVID-19 website to see about scheduling an appointment. Eligible persons should also remember that County-run vaccination sites are not the only places to receive a vaccine, so they should check with pharmacies, state-run sites and their own doctor about vaccines.
Vaccination appointment guidelines
Those eligible to secure an appointment are reminded to follow a few simple guidelines to help ensure the process continues to run efficiently:
- Do not show up without an appointment
- There is no need to arrive more than 15 minutes prior to your appointment
- Be ready to show photo ID and proof of employment in the food and agriculture industries (such as a paycheck stub)
- Work with on-site staff to get your vaccination card and to schedule a second-dose appointment
- Plan to spend at least an hour at your appointment
Food and agriculture industry: eligible worker categories
The food and agriculture industries employ a wide variety of workers, such as those supporting groceries, pharmacies, convenience stores, animal services and other retail stores that sell food or beverage products. A partial list of those eligible during this phase include:
- Workers supporting restaurant carry-out and quick serve food operations, including food preparation, carry-out and delivery food employees
- Food manufacturing employees and their supplier employees, including those employed in food ingredient production and processing
- Farmers, farm and ranch workers, and agribusiness support services
- Employees and firms supporting food, feed, and beverage distribution and ingredients used in these products, including warehouse workers, vendor-managed inventory controllers, and block chain managers
- Workers supporting the sanitation of all food manufacturing processes and operations from wholesale to retail
- Workers supporting the growth and distribution of plants and associated products for home gardens
- Workers in cafeterias used to feed workers, particularly worker populations sheltered against COVID-19
- Workers in animal diagnostic and food testing laboratories
- Government and non-governmental organizations who’s workers who are essential for food assistance programs
- Employees of companies engaged in the production, storage, transport, and distribution of chemicals, medicines (including cannabis), vaccines, and other substances used by the food and agriculture industry
- Animal agriculture workers to include those employed in veterinary health, and those raising and processing animals for food
- Those engaged in transportation supporting animal agricultural industries
- Employees engaged in the manufacture and maintenance of equipment and other infrastructure necessary to agricultural production and distribution
- Workers at animal care facilities that provide food, shelter, veterinary and/or routine care and other necessities of life for animals
For considerably more detailed information on food and agriculture workers now eligible to receive a vaccination, please visit the State’s COVID-19 website.
All Vaccine Appointments Moving to State’s MyTurn System Later this Month
Soon all vaccine appointments in San Bernardino County will be made using the state’s MyTurn system. County residents should register immediately at sbccovid19.com/vaccine in order to receive alerts about eligibility and appointment opportunities.
During the transition, eligible residents can make appointments at the County and State’s public health sites, hospitals and other vaccination providers (e.g. pharmacies and private practice physicians) by visiting the County’s vaccination website . Everyone is also encouraged to talk to their primary physician for other sources for the vaccine.
As of now, those eligible for vaccinations include all persons over age 65, as well as those working in health care, public safety/emergency services, skilled nursing/assisted living facilities, education, licensed childcare, and food and agriculture (see related story).
To hear the 30-second English-language radio commercial, click here.
‘Our Shot For Hope’ Campaign Heads to Radio
The County’s “Our Shot For Hope” campaign has now hit the radio waves. To promote vaccine awareness, the 15- and 30-second public service announcements (PSAs) will encourage listeners to go to SBCovid19.com to receive notifications on the staged rollout and know when it’s their turn to get vaccinated.
In addition, listeners will be given the County’s COVID hotline at 909-387-3911 to get assistance if they need it.
The ads will play on a mix of over-the-air and streaming options throughout the entire county in both English and Spanish. Listeners tuning in along the I-10 and I-15 corridors in the San Bernardino Valley will hear the ads on the following popular stations: 99.1-FM KGGI, 1350-AM KPWK Fox Sports and 100.9-FM and 101.7-FM Radio Lazer.
For those listening in the High Desert, you might hear our ads on 103.1-FM KXVV La Más Música or 100.7-FM KATJ Kat Country.
“We’ve been performing digital ads across social media and websites for a few weeks now, and the time was right to broaden the reach of our messaging over radio,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “With more vaccines coming in March, it’s important for all of our diverse residents, no matter where you live in the county, to know when and where to go to get vaccinated.”
Thinking of Social Gathering? Make Sure Everyone Gets Tested
While most of the County’s recent COVID-19 focus has been on launching our vaccination campaign, residents are reminded not to forget the importance of getting tested for the virus, especially if planning to spend time with extended family or friends.
Public health rules allow for gatherings of up to 12 people from no more than three households (including your own). But in advance of any such gathering, health officials strongly encourage all individuals to get tested to give everyone valuable peace of mind.
This means that if a group is planning to get together for a birthday party, take a trip to a winery or a weekend ski trip, it makes a lot of sense for everyone to take advantage of free, convenient testing in the days prior to the event so that everyone in the group can feel comfortable knowing they are safe.
“Getting tested is especially important if you are coming in contact with people outside your immediate household,” said County Public Health Director Corwin Porter. “Our vaccination program is expanding steadily, yet it’s still essential for everyone to remain vigilant. You absolutely do not want to be the one who spreads the virus to others — especially when we’re making such excellent progress on vaccinations and inching closer toward herd immunity.”
Fortunately, testing is widely available, and there are numerous testing sites located throughout the County, so securing an appointment is not difficult. Testing is available to everyone (including those without symptoms), a doctor’s prescription is not required, and testing is free. Results are shared within about 48 hours.
For more information on testing, and to schedule an appointment, please visit the testing section of our COVID-19 website: https://sbcovid19.com/testing-sites/
Latest Stats
286,814 Confirmed Cases (up 0% from the previous day)
2,952 Deaths (up 0.4% from the previous day)
2,496,802 Tests (up 0.2% from the previous day)
For more statistics from the COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, click the desktop or mobile tab on the County’s sbcovid19.com website.
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