The long lines of elderly Floridians queuing overnight for a COVID vaccination will not be a scene repeated in Santa Barbara. Appointments will be made, COVID distance protocols will be observed, and so far, said Public Health information officer Jackie Ruiz, all lights were green for sufficient amounts of vaccine for the first and second rounds.
Already, about 6,250 hospital workers in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and Santa Maria have received inoculations, with a refusal rate somewhere around 30 percent being reported. That was the case at Lompoc Valley Medical Center, said CEO Steve Popkin, though about 20 percent changed their minds after they saw that very few people had adverse reactions. Altogether, 16,770 doses from Pfizer and Moderna have arrived in the county, and 12,100 more are on order from Moderna.
Workers involved in health care from the jails to dental offices have received notices from Santa Barbara’s Public Health Department to fill out forms and sign up for vaccination appointments in Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Santa Barbara. The response has been spirited, particularly in the southern portion of the county.