On Tuesday, Dec. 20, local health officials will announce four new federal grants to boost the rates of Central Coast residents receiving the new bivalent COVID-19 booster.
The new bivalent COVID-19 booster was created to combat more recent variants of the novel coronavirus.
The Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, and American Indian Health & Services, the four recipients of the new federal grants, will all join Congressman Salud Carbajal at 11 a.m. at Santa Barbara County Health Care Center.
They also plan to raise awareness of other rising rates of illnesses this holiday season, including influenza and RSV according to a press release.
Currently, less than 20% of eligible Santa Barbara County residents have received the latest version of the COVID-19 booster. Nearly 70% of Santa Barbara County residents have completed their primary series of vaccinations.
Central Coast residents can find a COVID-19 booster or flu shot near them by visiting vaccines.gov.
