French Hospital Medical Center is another site in San Luis Obispo County offering COVID-19 vaccinations.
The hospital, located in San Luis Obispo, has been administering vaccinations for over a month now. The clinic first began vaccinating healthcare workers and now they are opening up vaccinations to the community for those who are 75 years or older.
The clinic has been provided with both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and healthcare workers are administering both on any given day depending on the supplies they receive.
French Hospital has administered over 1,800 vaccinations since they began, and they hope to continue administering 120 - 180 a day depending on their supply and staffing.
There are two ways for community members to sign up for a vaccine. One is through thecounty website, the other is through the French Hospital website. Demand for the vaccination has been high.
"Our guidance to everybody is to check the computer, check the website at least a couple of times a day and see if future dates are opening," said James Malone, French Hospital Chief Medical Officer.
According to Malone, side effects after the first shot may include a sore arm, similar to that of the flu shot. After the second dose people may experience fatigue, muscle aches, loss of appetite for at least one day.
Health officials urge those who get the vaccine to continue wearing a mask, wash their hands appropriately and keep social distancing.
"The vaccine's role is to prevent you from getting a serious infection that would be symptomatic and might land you in the hospital, it's unknown if it prevents infection all together so it's entirely possible that individuals could be infected but still be asymptomatic and still continue to spread the virus," said Malone.
Earlier this week the county canceled appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. French Hosptial wants to ensure the community that their vaccination site remains open and all appointments are being accepted.
