Santa Clara County on Tuesday announced a windfall of vaccines, more than a quarter of a million doses directly from the federal government, that allowed the country to open coronavirus vaccines for people as young as 16, two days before a large part of the state.
“We are very excited. “Eventually we will see a huge increase in vaccines and the availability of appointments,” said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the country’s vaccine officer, said at a news conference. He said that the demand had long exceeded the availability of vaccines – and that it was changing.
“I think Santa Clara County didn’t really get the proper amount of doses we should have,” he said. “So I think it’s appropriate that we get this vaccine.”
The federal grant is based on the country’s large number of federally qualified health centers, which are preferred by the federal government.
The country has already received nearly 300,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine this week. Another 40,000 doses of Moderna are expected to follow, Otto Lee, a provincial supervisor, told the news conference. In all, it has received nearly five times the land, he said.
“We have been waiting a long, long time for this day,” Lee said, adding that the move to vaccinate anyone at least 16 years old living or working in the province was a ‘game changer’.
Santa Clara County and San Francisco each lowered the vaccinations on Tuesday to include everyone 16 and older. They joined more than half of the provinces that did so, including Alameda and Contra Costa, before expanding the country Thursday.
Santa Clara County officials said tens of thousands of additional vaccination appointments will open this week and next week. Officials encouraged people to make appointments via the country’s website, SCCFreeVax.org. People without a computer can call 211 in the province to plan their shots.
Santa Clara County was able to expand its federal vaccination pipeline with the help of four representatives to Congress – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Democratic representatives. Zoe Lofgren from San Jose, Anna Eshoo from Palo Alto and Ro Khanna from Fremont – county supervisor Cindy Chavez told The Chronicle after she thanked them during the press conference.
The federal government prefers vaccination to federally qualified health centers, but provinces must apply to join the pipeline. Chavez said in an interview that the politicians’ help is needed because Santa Clara County has 12 such clinics, the second next to Los Angeles in the state, and that the demand for tens of thousands of doses might raise questions about whether the province could handle. an influx.
Chavez said the country has been preparing its vaccine infrastructure since the fall, and that it can vaccinate 30,000 people a day – but has only had a drizzle of doses.
Now, with the additional doses, the province will be able to vaccinate people faster in low-income communities in East San Jose and Gilroy, she said.
The news of the increase came at a time when most provinces, including Santa Clara, had announced that they were suspending the administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to safety issues raised after six recipients in the US received blood clots. have after their shots.
Nanette Asimov is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @NanetteAsimov