City of West Sacramento

Press Release
Press Release - Español

(Woodland, CA) – Yolo County will begin expanding its coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination efforts to include all frontline workers in Phase 1b Tier 1 of the State of California’s vaccine prioritization framework starting the week of February 15. Frontline workers consist of individuals who work in education, childcare, emergency services, and the food and agricultural industries. With this expansion, healthcare workers, residents ages 65 and older, and frontline workers will all be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Yolo County. 

To begin, Yolo County will offer a limited number of appointments this week for frontline workers that live or work in the county, with more vaccine clinics to be announced for next week. The County will allow anyone in Phase 1b Tier 1, including frontline workers, to register for the Saturday, Feburary 20 vaccine clinic in Woodland using the link on the County’s vaccine page at www.yolocounty.org/coronavirus-vaccine or by calling 2-1-1. Dignity Health and Yolo County will also partner on specialized clinics to quickly vaccinate teachers and school staff already in the classroom or on campus along with emergency services personnel, including law enforcement. For farmworkers, the County will conduct a pilot vaccine clinic for 200 workers at a local farm in Yolo County on Wednesday, February 17. Following the pilot, additional farmworker clinics will be scheduled at various worksites. 

At this time, none of the large health care providers in Yolo County are expanding eligibility to the frontline workers in Phase 1b Tier 1. This expansion applies only to Yolo County appointments, and those offered in partnership with Dignity Health. In Yolo County there are at least 19,000 frontline workers in the education, childcare, emergency services, and food and agricultural industries. How quickly the vaccine timeline goes will be reliant on the supply of vaccine from the California Department of Public Health. For this reason, the County asks for continued patience at this time during the vaccine rollout. 

Yolo County first began vaccination efforts in December 2020 for healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents in accordance with Phase 1a of the vaccine prioritization framework. In February 2021, the County moved into Phase 1b and prioritized vaccination of residents aged 75 and older followed by residents age 65 and older. These residents are most at risk of dying from COVID-19 and were therefore prioritized to receive the limited supply of vaccine. 

Since February 1, Yolo County has conducted at least 50 vaccine clinics. This includes targeted outreach and clinics for underserved communities in Knights Landing, Esparto, and the Capay Valley. Residents have also been able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from primary healthcare providers, and, more recently, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies. According to state data, 36,423 doses have been administered to Yolo County residents as of February 15. While not all residents ages 65 and older have been offered vaccinate yet, demand has begun to slow. This is likely a result of the gradual increase in weekly vaccine supply and the number of available vaccine providers. For this reason, the Yolo County Health Officer has decided to expand vaccine distribution to frontline workers.   

“I appreciate the patience of our frontline workers as we prioritized vaccinations for those most likely to die from COVID-19,” said Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson. “I am excited to now be able to offer vaccines to essential frontline workers whose jobs put them at risk of exposure to coronavirus, including workers in food and agriculture, education and childcare, and emergency services. We won’t be able to vaccinate this group all at once, because doses remain limited and the group is large, but being able to broaden eligibility marks a major milestone in the vaccine rollout.” 

Under guidelines from the California Department of Public Health, food and agricultural workers include all persons at risk of occupational exposure to COVID-19 through their work and any employee working in a restaurant. Additionally, the education and childcare workers eligible for vaccine include the following: 

• All formal and informal childcare workers, including day care providers
• All staff in colleges, universities, junior colleges, community colleges, and other postsecondary education facilities
• All staff in educational support services and administration
• All staff in Pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools
• All staff in technical and trade schools
• Any other workers involved in child and/or student care, including school bus drivers and monitors, crosswalk guards, etc.

Yolo County vaccine clinics are posted on the County’s vaccine webpage at www.yolocounty.org/coronavirus-vaccine, with additional appointments to come. Those whom are homebound and need an in-home vaccine or need assistance with the online vaccine appointment form may call 2-1-1 or (855) 866-1783 for staff assistance. Individuals not yet eligible for a vaccine are encouraged to fill out the State’s MyTurn vaccine registration system at www.myturn.ca.gov, which will notify you when you are eligible for a vaccine. 

For more information about Yolo County’s COVID-19 vaccine and distribution process, visit http://www.yolocounty.org/coronavirus-vaccine. Residents can call Yolo 2-1-1 for resource information. Follow Yolo County on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/YoloCounty or Twitter at: http://twitter.com/YoloCountyCA.