Del Norte County has expanded its COVID-19 eligibility as case rates tick up across the county.On the vaccine front, county officials on April 1 expanded the group eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines to include anyone over 16, in the face of a drop off in demand at the county’s vaccination sites.The move — ahead of the April 15 date for that group to become eligible in all California counties — means vaccine administration sites can offer Johnson & Johnson and Moderna doses to anyone 18 and older and the Pfizer vaccine to anyone 16 or older, regardless their health conditions or other factors.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');“As a reminder, all these vaccines work very well, and the basic rule is to get the vaccine that is easiest for you to get access, too,” wrote Public Health Officer Dr. Warren Rehwaldt in a release. “At this point, there should be no reason for anyone to not get a vaccine of some sort, if so desired.”So far, just under 10,000 doses of a vaccine have been administered in Del Norte County.As for the spread of the virus in the community, case rates have increased over the past several weeks, with 104 new cases reported between March 23 and April 5.April 1, with 34 new cases reported in the county, was the highest single day of new cases since mid-December. Most other days since the end of March have reported double-digit case counts across the county, a trend not seen since winter.The increases put the county on the path for a return to the restrictive purple tier of regulations, according to state data. Since restrictions are based on several weeks of data, Del Norte County remains in the red tier for the time being, but that could change if case rates continue to climb.Meanwhile, all of Del Norte’s neighbors — and the vast majority of the state’s population — have moved into the less-restrictive orange tier after the state hit a vaccination benchmark Tuesday loosening the requirements to enter that tier.State officials also announced Tuesday plans to phase out that current color-coded tier system of virus restrictions June 15.At that time, the state will “fully reopen its economy” if vaccine supply is sufficient for adults who wish to receive a dose, and if hospitalizations statewide remain stable and low, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.That full reopening would do away with almost all pandemic-related capacity restrictions on businesses, with a few limits on large events, as well as masking, testing and contract tracing requirements still in place across the state.State officials have remained vague about what benchmarks will allow the state to move forward with that plan, and said the state would continue monitoring case rates and virus variant spread before that takes place.Where are vaccines available?Del Norte County Public Health runs vaccine clinics at the fairgrounds on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the Yurok Public Health Department is hosting a one-time clinic in Klamath April 9. Registration for both is available online at myturn.as.me or by calling 707-951-6679.Sutter Health is also offering clinics on Thursdays and Fridays. More information is online at www.sutterhealth.org/coast/for-patients/health-alerts/covid-19-vaccine.A handful of local pharmacies are also offering vaccines: RiteAid is making appointments online at www.riteaid.com/covid-19, Safeway is making appointments online at www.safeway.com/pharmacy/covid-19.html and Walgreens is making appointments online at www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19 or by phone at 1-800-WALGREENS. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });