California Department of Public Health announced this week that they would be prioritizing individuals 65 and older to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Stanislaus County has vaccines available to distribute to eligible residents, including healthcare workers and anyone age 65 and over.

The County is home to at least 75,000 seniors. To ensure an equitable access to vaccines, Public Health requests all providers with the ability to store and administer vaccines to sign up so they can be providing vaccines to their patients. This will allow Public Health to focus on individuals without access to regular care. In an effort to increase availability of vaccines, Public Health is also asking every pharmacy, including those in grocery stores, to sign up for administering vaccines.

“We need all providers to help us protect our community, decrease hospitalizations and deaths, and end this pandemic,” said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, Stanislaus County Public Health Officer. “It will take all of us working together to ensure our vulnerable population, the seniors, are vaccinated and protected.”

Public Health is currently vaccinating those in Phase 1A at 830 Scenic Drive, Modesto, CA. Please understand lines may be long at this time. Another site is getting finalized to start vaccinating in Turlock at CSU Stanislaus. Additionally, Public Health is also working with cities of Patterson and Oakdale to set up vaccine clinics at those locations to increase overall accessibility in the county.

To ensure timely distribution of vaccines, Public Health is requesting as many vaccines as possible to open additional locations throughout the county. Vaccine distribution locations will be posted and updated daily on www.schsa.org/coronavirus and other media platforms. Visit www.schsa.org to learn more information or call 211 for additionally questions.