Santa Clara County officials said on Tuesday that countless residents were wrongly asked to receive extra doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by wrong text messages.
County officials said some community members reported having received text messages wrongly informing them of the availability of “extra” vaccine supplies and providing them with registration links for consultation at Santa Clara County vaccination sites.
“The county is investigating the source of this misinformation and reminds the public that vaccination appointments are being scheduled for health workers who qualify for Phase 1A vaccination,” said county officials in a statement on Tuesday.
County executive Jeff Smith told the board of supervisors on Tuesday that a web link to mark appointments for the vaccine is usually provided to an eligible recipient after the person completes a statement that he or she meets the prioritization requirements. .
But Smith said that, somehow, the web link was being sent to people who had not filled out that certificate. State and federal authorities have summoned frontline medical professionals, residents and employees of long-term care institutions that care for the elderly to be at the first priority level, or 1A.
In response to a question from Supervisor Joe Simitian, Smith said that “hacking is the wrong word”, but that the web link was accessed in an “inappropriate” way.
The accident resulted in several residents showing up at the county facilities waiting for a vaccine, some of whom had to be rejected for not meeting the priority criteria.
The county hopes that many health providers in the region will soon expand access to the next group of residents eligible for vaccination under State guidance for Phase 1B Level 1 – people aged 75 and over and some essential frontline workers, as teachers.
The county website at sccfreevax.org is the official source of vaccine-related information in Santa Clara County and is updated regularly to reflect which community members are currently eligible to receive the vaccine, as well as how these individuals can schedule appointments.
To ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria for vaccination, each person will be asked to provide a verification of their status when they arrive at the vaccination site for their consultation.