Riverside County opens vaccine eligibility to age 16+ Tuesday

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Starting Tuesday, Riverside County residents who are age 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the four county-run clinics.

Riverside County health officials say the change will open vaccine eligibility to hundreds of thousands more residents. Those who are 16 or 17 will need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

"The expansion of eligibility will allow the last large group of Riverside County adult residents to get vaccinated, and bring us one step closer to herd immunity," said Kim Saruwatari, director of Riverside University Health System-Public Health, in a press release. "Bringing the vaccine to a younger population, where we have seen an increase in cases, is a big step forward."

Riverside County may move to the less-restrictive orange tier as early as this week week. The county has been in the red tier since March 16, and in the five months prior to that was in the most restrictive purple tier.

To make an appointment for one of the Riverside County vaccination clinics, visit rivcoph.org/covid-19-vaccine.

Tracking the vaccine: California by the numbers

Note: Data is current through the evening of Apr. 4. Some data sources lag by about a day.

Los Angeles County

About 3.3 million people, or roughly 40% of the over 16 population were at least partially vaccinated as of Apr. 3. About 1.8 million people, or 22% were fully vaccinated. In total, the county has administered about 4.9 million doses. Over the last two weeks, it has administered about 1.2 million vaccine doses, an increase of 26% from the roughly 955,000 doses it administered two weeks before.

Orange County

About 1.1 million people, or roughly 43% of the over 16 population were at least partially vaccinated as of Apr. 3. About 550,000 people, or 22% were fully vaccinated. In total, the county has administered about 1.6 million doses. Over the last two weeks, it has administered about 393,000 vaccine doses, an increase of 29% from the roughly 304,000 doses it administered two weeks before.

Riverside County

About 646,000 people, or roughly 35% of the over 16 population were at least partially vaccinated as of Apr. 3. About 357,000 people, or 19% were fully vaccinated. In total, the county has administered about 979,000 doses. Over the last two weeks, it has administered about 209,000 vaccine doses, an increase of 12% from the roughly 188,000 doses it administered two weeks before.

San Bernardino County

About 507,000 people, or roughly 31% of the over 16 population were at least partially vaccinated as of Apr. 3. About 283,000 people, or 17% were fully vaccinated. In total, the county has administered about 772,000 doses. Over the last two weeks, it has administered about 173,000 vaccine doses, an increase of 19% from the roughly 146,000 doses it administered two weeks before.

Ventura County

About 289,000 people, or roughly 43% of the over 16 population were at least partially vaccinated as of Apr. 3. About 168,000 people, or 25% were fully vaccinated. In total, the county has administered about 445,000 doses. Over the last two weeks, it has administered about 107,000 vaccine doses, an increase of 32% from the roughly 81,000 doses it administered two weeks before.

Nationwide and Statewide

In the United States, according to CDC data, about 106.2 million people, or roughly 40.3% of the over 16 population were at least partially vaccinated as of Apr. 4. About 61.4 million people, or 23.3% had fully vaccinated. The same data shows about 13.3 million people, or roughly 42.5% of the over 16 population in California were at least partially vaccinated. About 7 million people, or 22.4% were fully vaccinated. This puts California at rank number 18 in terms of the percent of people over 16 at least partially vaccinated, and at rank number 40 in terms of people fully vaccinated.

City News Service contributed to this report.