Vaccination Expansion Will Be Honor-System Based In RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — When the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility expands on Monday to include people with certain disabilities and/or underlying health conditions, Riverside County-operated clinics will not require a doctor's note to show proof.

Instead, the shots will be administered on an honor system. When people show up for their booked appointments, they will be shown a list of maladies that the state has decided qualify for the next phase of vaccination eligibility (see list below) that opens Monday. If a person says yes to any of the displayed conditions, vaccination will be allowed. A doctor's note or copy of medical records will not be required, according to Brooke Federico, Riverside County spokesperson.

The California Department of Public Health eligibility guidelines that expand starting March 15 will include people who are deemed to be at the highest risk to get very sick from COVID-19 because they have one or more of the following severe health conditions:

• Cancer, current with a weakened immune system
• Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or above
• Chronic pulmonary disease, oxygen-dependent
• Down syndrome
• Solid organ transplant, leading to a weakened immune system
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies (but not hypertension)
• Severe obesity (Body Mass Index ≥ 40 kg/m2)
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus with hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5 percent

People with developmental or other severe high-risk disability can also be vaccinated beginning Monday if one or more of the following applies:

• The person is likely to develop severe life-threatening illness or death from COVID-19 infection
• Acquiring COVID-19 will limit the person's ability to receive ongoing care or services vital to their well-being and survival
• Providing adequate and timely COVID care will be particularly challenging as a result of the person's disability

The list may be adjusted as the days and weeks go on, health officials have said.

As of Thursday, the county reported it had administered 609,788 vaccine doses to people 65 and older, healthcare workers, teachers/educators/school administrators, emergency services, food industry workers and childcare providers.

Updated COVID-19 figures were not available Thursday due to a glitch in the California Department of Public Health's Reportable Disease Information Exchange portal, according to the Riverside County Executive Office. The next update on countywide data is scheduled Friday afternoon.

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