[Update: April 6, 2021, 10 a.m.] Vaccination appointments at the Santa Barbara Hilton filled a half hour after Public Health lowered the eligible age, posted the information online, and issued a press release. Public Health spokesperson Jackie Ruiz said, "It happened very, very quickly, and it means folks are paying attention. That's a good thing." And it hadn't surprised them, as newly eligible groups have been more excited and more eager to be vaccinated.
Public Health PODs (Points of Distribution) appointments open every Monday morning, but the one at the Santa Barbara Hilton this week filled slowly, even the signups for the popular single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, "which was quite surprising," Ruiz said.
"We had to make a decision, because we can't leave vaccines that don't go into an arm," she explained, "so we expanded eligibility a little bit earlier to have those folks take advantage of the vaccine." She said they were excited that a 15-year-old was able to sign on who got an appointment for the date of their 16th birthday.