Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Andrew Coren in a press release has updated the COVID-19 vaccine & booster or twice weekly testing mandate for EMS, Fire, Law Enforcement, Temporary Disaster Shelters as well as Dental Offices and Pharmacies. Effective February 1st, Dr. Coren says the mandate will provide a higher level of protection against the Omicron variant of COVID-19 for those workers whose positions are closely involved with the public. The addition of boosters to the mandate is due to recent evidence that vaccine effectiveness is increased with regular booster doses.