San Diego County began modifying its COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts this week to better reach San Diegans who struggle with accessing these services, health officials announced Friday.
The focus will include providing its resources at public health centers and through mobile services, the county said, including two Live Well on Wheels buses and a bookmobile, which has been repurposed as a mobile vaccine clinic.
This shift comes as the majority of COVID vaccinations and tests in the region are now administered through pharmacies, medical offices and hospitals. About 10% of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are being administered through the county.
“We have seen low demand at several of our existing testing and vaccination sites and are therefore shifting our efforts to more of the underserved safety net approach,” said Dr. Wilma J. Wooten, county public health officer. “The county remains committed to providing no-cost vaccinations and testing across the region but recognize that most people now get these services elsewhere.”
Changes in the testing process have also come to the seven state-funded COVID-19 testing sites the county organizes. Individuals will now initially be administered an antigen test and wait about 15 minutes for the results to come back. If the results of the antigen test are positive, the individual is given a confirmatory PCR test, with results expected back within one day. In the meantime, they are advised to follow isolation protocol.
The seven locations across the county that are offering the no-cost antigen/PCR testing process are:
- North Coastal Live Well Center, 3708 Ocean Ranch Blvd., Oceanside
- Kimball Senior Center, 1221 D Ave., National City
- Former Boys & Girls Club, 1301 Oleander Ave., Chula Vista
- Assessor Recorder County Clerk Building, 200 S. Magnolia Ave., El Cajon
- North Inland Live Well Center, 649 W. Mission Ave., Escondido
- Imperial Beach Sports Park Recreation Center, 425 Imperial Beach Blvd., Imperial Beach
- Former USD Electronics Recycling Center, 5330 Linda Vista Road, San Diego
More information about appointments and walk-ups is available at coronavirus-sd.com.
City News Service contributed to this article.