Bay Area

New Vaccination Mandate for First Responders

Unvaccinated first responders will need to receive their first dose of the COVID vaccine by March 1 and complete their primary series no later than April 15. In addition, personnel will need to be up-to-date with a booster shot within 15 days of becoming booster-eligible to continue working in higher-risk settings and interact with the public. Stating April 15, unvaccinated or unboosted first responders will be prohibited from entering higher-risk settings or interacting with the public in the course of their work unless they have a qualifying exemption. First responders without a medical or religious exemption can no longer “test out” of vaccination requirements.

Published

5 years ago

February 21, 2022

Oakland Post

Marin County first responders were first eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020.

Marin issues order directed to law enforcement, firefighters, medical personnel

Courtesy of Marin County

Marin County personnel in the fields of law enforcement, firefighting and emergency medical response must be fully vaccinated and boosted to work in Marin County’s higher-risk settings, according to a new Marin County health order taking effect at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 10.

Recent COVID-19 outbreaks have been traced to unvaccinated first responders, according to Marin County Public Health records. As of Feb. 7, Marin County Public Health was managing multiple, preventable outbreaks in vulnerable, higher-risk settings. Those settings include those in which the first responders work with people who are at higher risk of severe illness, hospitalization, or death from COVID-19, including congregate settings. Among active outbreaks countywide, there is one at the Marin County Jail, nine at skilled nursing facilities (“nursing homes”), nine at residential care facilities for the elderly, and 19 at other group living facilities.

“These outbreaks have been amplified by contact with unboosted staff, an inadequate testing cadence, and a highly contagious variant,” said Dr. Lisa Santora, the County’s Deputy Public Health Officer. “It is critical to protect our public safety and health care systems from the Omicron variant as well as future waves of COVID-19 activity.”

First responders included in the Public Health order include police officers, Sheriff’s deputies, probation officers, part-time and full-time firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, and those providing pre-hospital medical care. The order also applies to first responders who routinely interact with the public.

Marin has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates of any county in the nation with 94.9% of those ages 5 and over having completed a vaccine series.

“While highly vaccinated, Marin County is experiencing waning community immunity,” Santora added. “It has been more than one year since many first responders completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series.”

Evidence indicates that the Omicron variant is significantly more transmissible than prior virus variants and that individuals who have had only their initial vaccine series and are eligible for the booster are susceptible to the Omicron variant.

Santora said it’s critical to ensure all individuals working in higher-risk settings are both vaccinated and boosted when eligible. Protecting frontline workers from infection is essential to staffing our critical infrastructure, including public safety and health care systems. Individuals working in higher-risk settings can also expose highly vulnerable individuals who are at increased risk of severe illness and death.

For the time being, workers in those first-responder roles who are not fully vaccinated or not up-to-date with a booster must comply with the following if they have not tested positive for COVID-19 in past 90 days:

use a fit-tested N95 mask at all times when around other people, except when eating, bathing, or sleeping; and,
undergo twice weekly testing; and,
when practicable, avoid using indoor breakrooms or cafeterias and avoid eating indoors or sleeping indoors when others are present.

For more information, visit Coronavirus.MarinHHS.org.

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Oakland Post: Week of September 9 – 15, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 9 – 15, 2026

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1 week ago

September 14, 2026

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

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September 7, 2026

Oakland Post

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Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association

The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”

Published

3 weeks ago

August 29, 2026

Post News Group

Dawna Williams, EOBA executive director speaks to attendees at the Black August Eperience on Aug. 21. Photo courtesy of Carolyn Flynn of EOBA.

By Jana Lang Propel Youth Reporter

Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association

The East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA) and Youth Alive! came together on Aug. 21 to share with their community all that Black August means to them.

Held on EOBA’s patio at 816 98th Ave. in Deep East Oakland, the two organizations hosted their second annual Black August Experience, featuring a food tasting, financial literacy and mindfulness workshops, and voter registration with the League of Women Voters Oakland (LWV).

Black August is known as a time to uphold the legacy of prisoners who protested their conditions by fasting, fighting, and educating themselves on the economic and political circumstances that contributed to their incarceration.

According to its website, “EOBA is a multi-service youth and community development hub that goes far beyond the ring. While rooted in the discipline of boxing, for nearly 40 years EOBA has also integrated robust programs in workforce development, food justice, afterschool enrichment, financial literacy, mentorship, and wellness.”.

The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”

Through Coro California, another leadership organization serving young people across the state for 80 years, they gained a broader understanding of Black August.

EOBA Executive Director Dawna Williams spoke about how much she learned about Black August from the youth who created it. “I let them educate me,” she said. Instead of talking about prison reform and mass incarceration, Williams and youth interns found that Black August meant so much more. “We would have done a disservice if we had just focused on who the people were and what their situation was…We tried to take their message from back in the day and make it relevant to the young people today. What do they need to know?”

Youth interns created and placed posters around the patio to help participants understand how traditional Black foodways, civic engagement, financial literacy, and the power of education are relevant to Black resistance today.

An EOBA member described Black August with Youth ALIVE! as “a whole vibe. “This year we added the Fun Zone for the kids, because you really cannot go wrong with a Fun Zone. I also loved seeing everyone chillin’ in the outdoor lounge, catching some Vitamin D and just enjoying a Friday evening together.”

The food tasting, a popular event from last year, featured traditional Black foods such as black-eyed peas, johnny cakes, and fried chicken. Led by Williams, the tasting included a talk about how these traditional foods were made and why they are forms of Black resilience.

The “‘Plate of History’ was a favorite of the online writers. “Fun, educational, and did I mention delicious? Our Taste of History cook, Angela Southall, served up some good eats while connecting food to history and culture.”

The writer also commended the “League of Women Voters Oakland for their civic leadership and for getting our young people informed, ready, and registered to vote.”

Overall, it was a “good Friday event in East Oakland,” the writer said.

Upcoming Black August events: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The websites for East Oakland Boxing Association, Youth Alive! and CORO are sources for this report.

Jana Lang is an Oakland resident, teacher, gardener and poet participating in the Propel News Initiative.