JUNE 2021 UPDATE: The County's COVID-19 phone hotline has transitioned back to Marin County Fire Department's hotline.
San Rafael, CA – With more than 83% of all Marin County residents having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and a growing number of local vaccine providers, live phone support from Marin County Public Health’s two public call lines is shifting to health care providers and the state’s hotline.
Support from Marin County Public Health’s two public call lines is shifting to health care providers and the state’s hotline.As Public Health continues to vaccinate Marin residents, the number of calls seeking COVID-19 clarification and vaccine availability, scheduling, and locations has seen a steady decline in the past few weeks.
Starting May 29, those seeking vaccine access may call the California COVID-19 Hotline at 1-833-422-4255 (CA Relay Service Dial 711) weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and weekend 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The state’s staff will support everyone age 12 and older with booking, changing, or cancelling a vaccine appointment, or arranging transportation to a vaccine site. The hotline supports callers in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, and other languages. Staff can also be reached at chat.myturn.ca.gov.
Those seeking information and resources for older adults, persons with disabilities, or family caregivers may email 473-INFO@marincounty.org or call (415) 473-INFO (4636) (CA Relay Service Dial 711) In addition, Public Health is encouraging people to consult their health care and primary care providers for COVID-19 information and updates on the vaccine.
“We are rethinking our approach on how we support the community in a relevant and efficient way as we progress toward COVID-19 immunity,” said Cynthia Gerlinger, call center manager. “Our local call center served to fill a temporary gap for those without access to internet or those who needed additional support to access a vaccine. Those resources are still available, just accessed by different means.”
Public Health’s Access Service Center (ASC) at was formed in February 2021 in partnership with Vivalon to support seniors and those with access and functional needs obtain access to the vaccine. As vaccine eligibility shifted, the ASC quickly expanded to assist anyone with a language or digital barrier, or those with disabilities who needed help booking a vaccine appointment. The ASC was instrumental in scheduling accommodations at vaccine clinics or transportation to and from the clinics. The ASC team also coordinated with the County’s mobile vaccine team to arrange for home visits to those unable to leave their home for a vaccine.
More recently, the ASC staff has been assisting Public Health’s vaccine information and outreach campaign, reaching out to the community to communicate vaccine site schedule and location updates, clarifying questions about the vaccine and offering to help guide anyone 12 years old and older to get vaccinated. To date, the ASC has logged more than 23,000 calls in the three months it has been operational.
Starting June 30, the local COVID-19 Call Center, which has answered inquiries at (415) 473-7191, will transition back to the Marin County Fire Department’s (MCFD) Fire Information Hotline, providing outbound informational updates related to local fire-related emergencies. MCFD has shared the phone line with Marin County Public Health since March 2020.
Public Health’s COVID-19 Call Center has answered more than 26,000 calls since it was created last year, responding to a wide array of needs, from stay-home order clarification to residents seeking testing and vaccine information, businesses seeking COVID-19 safety guidance, reports of COVID outbreaks, and Social Services referrals. Ongoing requests for general information and questions about COVID-19, including guidance for businesses, schools and COVID-19 prevention, can be emailed to COVID-19@marincounty.org.
Marin County Department of Health and Human Service’s COVID-19 website is updated regularly with the latest information, including vaccination sites and schedules through GetVaccinatedMarin.org. The site includes answers to frequently asked questions and investigates myths versus facts.
Stay informed of progress by subscribing to Public Health’s daily status updates, which are emailed to more than 35,000 registered recipients. The daily update contains information on vaccination progress, announcements of vaccine news, and other relevant COVID-19 information.