After nearly a month of offering virtually no first-dose COVID-19 vaccine opportunities, Santa Clara County has released thousands of new appointments at its health clinics and mass vaccination sites.
In order to get a coveted shot, you must be a resident of Santa Clara County and meet the state’s current eligibility criteria. Qualifying criteria include people over the age of 50, residents of long-term care facilities, healthcare workers, people 16 or older with high-risk health conditions or disabilities, and workers in education, emergency services, public transit, food and agriculture.
Over the past month, Santa Clara County has struggled to offer many first-dose appointments due to its limited vaccine supply and its need to provide residents who received their first doses early with second doses in the required time frame.
This week marks the first time since early March that the county has released a substantial number of first-dose slots — about 32,000 this week to be exact.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were still slots open at Gilroy High School and San Jose’s Berger Auditorium, Valley Health Center Tully, Emmanuel Baptist Church and Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Expo Hall. No more appointments were available at Levi’s Stadium, Valley Specialty Center, Valley Health Center East Valley nor the Mountain View Community Center.
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The county’s release of thousands of new appointments comes on the same day that California dramatically expanded the number of vaccine-eligible residents across the state. Californians ages 50 and up in all 58 counties are now able to officially get vaccinated through regular channels such as public health departments and health care providers and in just two weeks, on April 15, all Californians 16 and older will become eligible for a vaccine.
Despite finally offering thousands of new appointments this week, Santa Clara County leaders know that 32,000 doses will only cover a small fraction of residents now eligible for a vaccine.
State Rep. Ro Khanna tweeted early Thursday that he was working with the federal government and the Biden administration to expedite enrolling Santa Clara County’s federally qualified health centers in a new federal vaccine program aimed at making vaccine distribution more equitable. Contra Costa County, which is overflowing with COVID-19 vaccine doses, recently received 14,000 doses as part of this program in addition to its regular allocation from the state.
“Santa Clara County needs more vaccine doses,” Khanna tweeted. “As cases continue to rise, it’s critical that we get the most vulnerable vaccinated ASAP.”
BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT
To book an appointment, visit https://vax.sccgov.org/home or call 408-970-2000.