Santa Clara County uses less than half of the COVID-19 vaccines it receives.
The province has vaccinated more than 47,000 people after receiving 110,000 vaccinations so far, COVID-19 testing officer Marty Fenstersheib said. According to the website, at least 122,950 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been allocated to the country.
The 47,000 people vaccinated in Santa Clara County do not include shots fired at veterans’ events and federal programs.
The data comes a week after San José Spotlight repeatedly called for the number of vaccinations administered so far to be released. While the state reports these numbers on its website, the figures include 14 other provinces – including some as far as Humboldt and Mendocino. The province pointed a finger at private hospitals for not providing the information.
Fenstersheib blames the slow pace of vaccinations on health workers who are reluctant to receive the vaccine.
“It raises issues about people’s fears about safety,” Fenstersheib said. “I think once we get over the hump and people accept the vaccination more easily, you will see that the number increases significantly.”
But health officials did not provide any data on how many people are actually taking the vaccine. Government Gavin Newsom said at a recent news conference that state health officials are still trying to measure how many people are taking vaccines.
Fenstersheib also said sending the vaccine to hospitals and making sure it is stored properly also takes time.
Health leaders must vaccinate at least 140,000 health workers to clear the first level, said Dr. Sara Cody, public health officer, said. Provincial supervisor Otto Lee said health officials expect to start administering 6,000 vaccinations a day.
Santa Clara County has 78,683 cumulative cases of COVID-19 and 815 deaths as of Jan. 7. At least 1,362 of the cases and 17 of the deaths were in the last few days.
A provincial spokesman said local health officials are relying on the state to track doses administered from each private hospital and clinic in the area.
However, the state only shows the number of vaccines administered per region, which means the numbers for Santa Clara County are packed with data from 15 other provinces, including some as far as Humboldt and Mendocino provinces.
As of January 5, 125,290 doses have been administered within the region of 15 counties that include Santa Clara County.
Several healthcare providers have told San José Spotlight that they are following the vaccinations that have been administered since the first shots of Pfizer and Moderna arrived in Silicon Valley in December.
Joy Alexiou, a spokeswoman for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, said the province’s three hospitals and clinics had vaccinated 8,154 people as of Jan. 6. Alexiou said she has no information on how many doses the hospitals received.
Stanford Health Care vaccinated 13,563 people on Jan. 5, spokeswoman Lisa Kim said. The Palo Alto plant received 25,636 doses as of January 6th.
The province supplies vaccines to its own health care system, Stanford Health Care and community clinics.
Kaiser Permanente has vaccinated 45,000 people in 21 hospitals across the Bay and Central Valley. A Kaiser spokesman said the company did not have information on the amount of vaccines it had on hand, and that it did not resolve the amount of vaccines being administered in each province.
Are you asking about COVID-19 vaccines? Email [email protected] and we will get the answer.
Contact Mauricio La Plante by [email protected] or follow @mslaplantenews on Twitter.