Santa Clara County officials are appealing to all health workers in the country to be vaccinated for COVID-19 now that they are eligible.
The news comes after the state’s Department of Public Health on Thursday expanded the election to include all health workers below any level in Phase 1A of the distribution of vaccines.
This means that those in the second and third tier of Phase 1A, including those in interim care facilities, community health workers (including promoters), public health staff, primary care clinics, specialist clinic workers, laboratories, dental clinics, and pharmacy staff, can be vaccinated.
Initially, only staff at acute care hospitals and dialysis centers, medical first responders and staff and residents at long-term care facilities were eligible for the vaccine.
“We are very pleased to see that the early deployment of the vaccine provides protection to so many of our most important and dangerous workers,” said Provincial Supervisor Otto Lee. “Now the pool has just gotten bigger, and the province and other health care system partners are rushing to meet this increased demand.”
There are about 140,000 health workers in Santa Clara County, and already 47,000 of them have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine – a figure Dr. Sara Cody, the province’s health official and director of public health, says ‘great progress’ is being made.
“Despite the fact that we are in the midst of an extremely difficult recovery in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and that the first vaccine shipments arrived during the holidays,” Cody said. “Health care systems across the country have made great strides in vaccinating staff in the early stages of Phase 1A.”
To date, healthcare systems across the country have received 110,280 first-dose and 17,320 of the second-dose COVID-19 vaccine. Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health also received additional vaccine delivered directly to them.
Most health workers are eligible to receive the vaccine through their employer, but those who are not can be vaccinated by the province.
Residents of long-term care institutions receive vaccines through the federal government’s Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program.
As more vaccines arrive in the country, more appointments will be made available and sent there every week.
The province’s healthcare system is expected to reach 4,000 vaccinations per day by the end of next week, and capacity will increase in the coming weeks.
“We are opening various clinic-based sites in the country and expect that there will be additional vaccinations for mass vaccination in the near future,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, co-head of the hospitals and clinics in Santa Clara Valley, said.
Once Phase 1A people have been offered the vaccine, the state will allow vaccination to begin in Phase 1B, which includes people over the age of 75 and other “essential workers” working in education, child care, emergency services and food. and agriculture.
The second phase of Phase 1B will include adults aged 65 to 74, prisoners and homeless people, and those working in transport, critical manufacturing and other sectors exposed by their work.
Healthcare officials continue to plead with the public to continue to follow health orders and safety protocols for COVID-19.
“Our progress so far in vaccinating our health workers brings us great hope, but we must remain vigilant until most of our community is vaccinated. We must all work together to achieve this, but we will get there,” he said. Marty Fenstersheib, COVID-19 testing and vaccine officer for Santa Clara County, said.
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