In an effort to bolster a slow vaccination of vaccines, Santa Clara County officials on Friday urged all health care professionals to get their first dose of coronavirus vaccine, saying shots are readily available at medical centers across the country.
According to the country, just over three weeks since the administration of the first vaccine, less than a third of the health workers in the first phase have been vaccinated. The distribution of vaccines that require complex storage and transport has been made more complicated by the vast web of phases, stages and levels, said dr. Sara Cody, the province’s public health officer, said during a news conference on Friday. Overall, the initial deployment was “encouraging,” she said, and the province was “delighted with the partnership of all health care systems to stand up for vaccinations.”
According to county officials, as of Friday, Santa Clara County has administered approximately 47,000 of the approximately 110,000 first-time doses awarded, leaving more than 90,000 Phase 1A health workers who have yet to receive any vaccine. About 17,000 hospital workers will receive their second dose this week. For the context, approximately 26,000 provincial residents have been granted at least temporary immunity by contracting the virus themselves since the first doses were introduced on 17 December.
“We’re trying to get through Phase 1A as quickly as possible,” Cody said. “It’s an attempt to cover everything. Once we trust that the people eligible for Phase 1A have made their appointment, we will be able to move on to Phase 1B. ”
Just within phase 1A, there are three separate levels. Although this week California invited all health care providers to be vaccinated in the first phase. Once it reaches Phase 1B, all frontline workers and everyone over the age of 75 will be eligible. The phases have a ‘significant layer of complexity’, Cody said.
Dr Marty Fenstersheib, the COVID-19 testing officer of the province, said he hopes to enter the next phase of vaccinations by the end of the month, but that it depends on the amount of doses the country receives has.
Provincial officials said they hope to set up vaccinations up to 6,000 a day by the end of next week, but Cody said the province does not plan to open a 24/7 mass vaccination site as others nationwide show up . Achieving the province’s desired herd immunity threshold – immunity among at least 85% of the population – will require about 1.6 million vaccinations. At the current pace, it will take two years to reach the goal. At a rate of 6,000 per day, it will take about nine months.
“I’m not a logistical person, but I can even realize how complicated it is,” Cody said. Each of the Modern and Pfizer vaccines has its own ‘very specific storage and handling’ – each requires cold storage, or, in the case of Pfizer, a sub-zero – ‘which means that the design is very close to the freezer must be, ‘Cody said.
Fenstersheib compared the vaccination of vaccines to the testing process of the country in the first months of the pandemic.
‘It took a considerable effort. It started slowly, ‘he said, noting that the country is now doing ten times as many diagnostic tests as in the spring. ‘I think (the distribution of vaccine) is expected to start slowly and we expect it to increase … It will take time, but I think we will accelerate our efforts and all in less than two and a half years get vaccinated, that’s for sure. “
Any healthcare staff, including hospital staff, staff and residents of long-term care facilities, medical first responders and dialysis centers, home health workers and those in intermediate care facilities, community health workers, public health staff, primary care clinics, primary care clinics, work dental clinics and pharmacy staff are all eligible to plan their vaccination appointment through their healthcare provider or the country.