San Diego City Wire

Californians 65 and older can line up for the COVID-19 vaccine at the University of California - San Diego Health as county and city health officials and the San Diego Padres continue this week's effort to vaccinate at least 5,000 health care workers a day, according to area news reports.

The effort in San Diego County kicked off Jan. 10 with the "vaccination super station" event near Petco Park, KPBS reported. The event's goal was to safely vaccinate the region's 500,000 health care workers who are eligible for Phase 1A-tier of California's vaccine priority list, according to the KPBS news report.

"The vaccination super station increases our ability as a county to administer the vaccine to health care workers," said San Diego County Board of Supervisors chairman Nathan Fletcher during a COVID-19 news briefing a week ago. "A large number of vaccinations are being done by health systems, by the VA, by DOD, by pharmacies, and so it is a very fragmented, disjointed nature. There hasn't been one place that someone could just go and say 'I'm a health care worker, I can't get it, where do I go?' And so we want to do that."

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher | supervisornathanfletcher.com/

Large-scale vaccinations began after a Jan. 7 decision as hospitals throughout San Diego County brace for the expected post-New Year's holiday surge, according to the KPBS report.

Jan. 7 began the early part of Phase 1B to allow for the vaccination of people ages 65 and older. That would be in addition to Phase 1A, which allows for vaccination of health care workers, nursing home staff and residents and other congregate living facilities. State officials said the expansion to include early Phase 1B's category for those 65 and older was necessary because that age group is at greatest risk of hospitalization and death.

"There is no higher priority than efficiently and equitably distributing these vaccines as quickly as possible to those who face the gravest consequences," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. "To those not yet eligible for vaccines, your turn is coming. We are doing everything we can to bring more vaccine into the state."