Although still in very limited supply, distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine now seems to be on track with more clinics providing vaccinations.

As of late February, however, all vaccine appointments at Tulare County public health clinics have been taken – even though at this time, other than essential workers, the only eligible age group is individuals ages 65 or older.

"The biggest hindrance has been the availability of the supply," explained Carrie Monteiro, Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency public information officer. "As soon as we get vaccines, the process is very smooth."

This year started with lot more people in Tulare County being eligible to receive the vaccine than the number of vaccines available. The county "has been working through that population," said Monteiro.

"Fifty-thousand residents contacted us and we had less than 50,000 vaccines," she said, adding that the vaccine is a two-dose process. "We need to meet the threshold of 100,000 doses."

Things seem to be changing, however.

"We're starting to see changes from the federal government," she said. "The federal government has started to allocate vaccines directly through pharmacy partnerships and to local healthcare providers through its Federally Qualified Health Center Program."

Since February 12, the COVID vaccine has been available at local pharmacies through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

The CVS stores at 53 E. Olive Ave. in Porterville, and 109 S. West St. in Tulare are currently offering the vaccine to those 65 and over, as are the Rite Aid locations at 262 N. Highway 65 in Lindsay, and at 5212 W. Walnut Ave. in Visalia, and Savemart Pharmacy at 3615 W. Noble Ave. in Visalia.

Currently, 23 health centers in the county are also offering the vaccine.

Again, as of press time, all appointments have been taken.

Visit https://covid19.tularecounty.ca.gov and click on the "COVID-19 Vaccine" link at the top of the page for a complete list of vaccine locations and for the most current information. Vaccine information is also available by calling (559) 685-2260.

Kings County Update

Meanwhile, after adminis-tering more than 7,400 vaccines, the Kings County Department of Public Health (KCDPH) announced a delay in scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments until problems were resolved.

"One of the issues that became apparent over the past few days is the inability to prevent currently ineligible individuals from registering to receive a vaccine," the department stated in a February 18th release, which also cited the bad weather across the nation as the reason a shipment of vaccines to the county was delayed.

"The combination of these two separate and unfortunate situations has forced the public health department to halt plans for vaccination clinics for the near future," said Nichole Fisher, KCDPH Nursing Division manager.

In Kings County, visit http://www.kingscovidinfo.com for current information.

Appointments can also be made at the MyTurn portal, https://myturn.ca.gov, which provides additional information.

The CA COVID-19 Hotline at 1-833-422-4255 also offers assistance.