Malibu Infection Rate Remains Below Detectable Levels, As Ventura County Shots Remain Off Limits For Locals
Written by 991KBU on March 22, 2021
In Malibu … the rate of new Covid 19 infections has been too low to reliably calculate for nearly two weeks now.
No new infections reported in Malibu over the weekend.
But there remains a glitch in the system being used to make appointments for eligible people to get vaccinated.
Both the state’s centralized vacination system … and the systems being operated by pharmacy chains like Walgfreens and CVS … are sedning Malibu residnets to the nearest locations with available appointments.
And in some cases … Malibu residents are being sent to Thousand Oaks or Camarillo.
Those places are just over the county line … that’s against Ventura County regulations … and Ventura County officials are putting out big “Ventura Cpounty Residents Only” signs.
But people are not being told that when they make appointments on line … leading to hundreds of people bring turned away from what they thought were valid places in line.
Some of them were turned away in tears.
Ventura County calls them “vaccine tourists.”
Erik Cho is the director of vaccine strategy in Ventura County.
NEWSCART 73224 VACCINE ONE ERIC CHO
STATE MAKES U S CHANGE THAT GUIDELINE
“The policy for Ventura County for the for our public health sites is to vaccinate only folks who either reside or work in Ventura County and of course qualify by either age or via sector.
“So that is something that might change if the state guides us to make that change.”
The State of California has not actually set guidelines allowing counties to require residency …
In fact … residency documentation is being discourageed so that farmworkers and others without ID will get vaccinated.
And it’s not like Ventura County is getting shorted on vaccine.
Cho says the vaccination rate right now in Ventura County is above 30 percent … compared to 24 percent last week in Malibu … and 23 percent across L A County.
So the Ventura County’s Public Health Department policy stands.
Cho says the state may own the vaccine … but it has not told Ventura County they must vaccinate people from just over the county line … Malibu residents.. not just theirs.
NEWSCART 73323 VACCINE TWO ERIC CHO MANDATE
THEN WE WOULD FOLLOW THE DIRECTIVE.
“I don’t think that the state has asked us to mandate that we take everyone from all the counties at this point … and if that becomes the official mandate then we would follow the directive.”
KBUU News has asked the state vaccine auhtorities to explain…
No response.
But despite that … the news today is overwhelingly good.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is defending the opening up of Southern Caliofnria business. … schools and society.
Garcetti often speaks for the region to the nation… and Garcetti was on Face The Nation on CBS yesterday.
Garcetti said Southern California is doing better … much better … than the rest of ther county right now.
NEWSCART 73325 GARCETTI
AS A MONTH OR TWO BEFORE
“The data is very clear.
“If we were a state right now we would be have the second lowest potitivity rate and our state of Californa right now I think is the third-lowest rate in the country.
“I believe that some of those variants have burned though Los Angeles …
“It’s the only way to explain what happened in decembner and January when we had the same number of closures as the month before (but injection rates shot up).”
