Kings County residents aged 65 or older begin getting COVID-19 vaccine

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kings County is moving into the next phase of getting everyone vaccinated for the coronavirus.

On Friday, those ages 65 and older were able to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and even though it was by appointment only, the doses went quickly

"We've gone through most of it. We are not booking any appointments as of right now, because we only have enough for the appointments we have through next week," says Nichole Fisher with Kings County's public health department.

Officials are teaming up with Aria Community Health Centers to administer doses in most cities.

Fisher says the county is being given small allotments of the vaccine and they don't know how many of which brand they'll be receiving, which it becomes more difficult to determine how many patients can book appointments.

"We also find that because we start with one vaccine and you have to have the same second, sometimes we only receive Moderna, other times we only receive Pfizer," Fisher says.

Fisher says they're vaccinating seven days a week, and asking physicians to sign up to become administrators.

They're also reaching out to large food production companies to prepare to vaccinate their own employees when the time comes.

"We spoke with Central Valley Meat and they are working on that with the occupational health team," Fisher says.

The public health department continues to vaccinate healthcare workers, and Fisher expects appointments to resume next week as more resources and vaccines become available.

Fisher says sometimes they receive an extra dose of a vaccine.

And to avoid wasting any doses, they have a wait list for eligible residents.