The vaccine rollout in Santa Clara County is in full swing, with 47,000 county healthcare workers having received their first of two COVID-19 shots. Following state approval for all healthcare workers to be vaccinated, the distribution process has accelerated and expanded.
The 47,000 who’ve received their initial vaccine doses are about one-third of all healthcare workers in Santa Clara County, who number about 140,000. The county has already seen the arrival of 110,280 first doses and 17,320 second doses, not counting those vaccines sent to entities spanning multiple counties, including Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente.
We’re still in the three-tiered Phase 1A of the vaccine rollout, which initially covered hospital workers, nursing home staff and residents, medical first responders, and dialysis providers. But now that the state has permitted it, vaccines can go to home healthcare workers, intermediate care facility workers, primary care clinic and specialty clinic staff, dental clinicians, pharmacy staff, and lab personnel.
In a County press release today, Associate Chief Medical Officer of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Hospitals and Clinics Dr. Jennifer Tong said, “We are opening various clinic-based sites around the county and anticipate opening additional mass-vaccination facilities in the near future.”
Come Phase 1B of the rollout, regular residents aged 75 and over and frontline essential workers will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
By the end of next week, Santa Clara County could be administering as many as 4,000 vaccinations a day, with expanded capacity expected beyond that mark.
In the meantime, health officials continue to stress that people cannot grow lax in terms of mask-wearing, hand-washing, social distancing, avoiding travel, and sheltering in place.
