Santa Clara County is increasing the vaccinations in an effort to provide it to health workers before moving on to the next group.
So far, the rollout has been slow in the Bay and the country, but the next phase is expected to go much faster.
Kevin Dizon is now among the more than 47,000 health workers in Santa Clara County to get his COVID-19 appointment card, along with his first vaccination.
“I actually did not think I could get it, I thought I would be at a later level, and then they added the dental field,” Dizon said.
The state has considered Phase 1A to include all types of health professionals, such as Dizon, who is a dentist.
But so far, only about a third of the country’s health workers have received their shots.
Vaccinations will not be extended to the next group until this group is completed, which should be in a few weeks.
Healthcare organizations across the Bay Area are already sending out messages to members, including a mass email from Sutter Health.
According to the message, group 1B, which includes patients aged 65 to 74 and teachers, will soon be able to discuss vaccinations online.
Santa Clara County Public Health plans to open a second vaccination center, which could expand its capacity to 6,000 shots per day.
Add to that private groups like Walgreens and CVS.
“We’re talking about more, like for example private hospitals like Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Kaiser, they also give their vaccines separately,” said Otto Lee, supervisor of Santa Clara County.
But the expanded capacity all depends on the availability of the vaccines.
“The vaccinations are coming in waves,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center said. “We get a large share of 50 to 100,000 at a time, and one of our most important factors in further expanding capacity is whether we will have enough vaccine.”