Taking to the ‘airwaves’ via the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page, Sheriff Pat Withrow recently issued his monthly message to county residents.

The sheriff noted that, for the “first time in a couple of years” they missed providing a January message, so the Feb. 5 address was the first of 2021.

“We were kind of swamped and very busy,” the sheriff noted of not being able to provide the update in January.

He told residents that it appears San Joaquin County is “starting to turn the corner a little bit on this pandemic” and he offered condolences to those families who have been affected the most, including losing loved ones and businesses struggling to stay afloat.

“The vaccines have arrived and we’ve jumped in,” Withrow explained of the department, working to assist the county Office of Emergency Services and the county Health Department in getting vaccination clinics set up and running “smoothly, efficiently and fairly.”

Withrow said San Joaquin County is going by the state guidelines for the Tier structure in administering the vaccines, first providing the shot clinics for those in Phase 1A and the 65-and-older population.

“We are struggling to get vaccines from the state,” the sheriff said. “But we’re getting out what’s given to us.”

Other topics the sheriff touched on during his roughly three-minute, 45-second address to the community included noting his attendance at a memorial service for a fallen Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department deputy and a receiving a visit from agents with the State Parole-Delta District, with which his department works cooperatively. They presented the sheriff with a wooden flag plaque, embossed with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department logo.

Withrow said he hopes to continue providing the monthly updates for residents and urged citizens to be proactive in helping deputies address crime in their neighborhoods.

“If you see something, say something,” he said. “My guys have been out there, working really hard for you.”