Santa Clara County officials are asking all county health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 now that they are eligible.
The news comes after the state’s public health department expanded eligibility on Thursday to include all health professionals at any level in Phase 1A of vaccine distribution.
This means those in the second and third layers of Phase 1A, including those in intermediate care facilities, community health workers (including promoters), public health staff, workers in primary care clinics, workers in specialist clinics, laboratories, dental clinics, and pharmacy staff can be vaccinated.
Initially, only employees of acute care hospitals and dialysis centers, medical first responders and employees and residents of long-term care facilities were eligible for the vaccine.
“We are delighted to see that the early launch of the vaccine offered protection to many of our most essential and most at risk workers,” said county supervisor Otto Lee. “Now the pool has gotten bigger, and the county and other system partners healthcare providers are preparing to meet this growing demand. “
There are about 140,000 health professionals in Santa Clara County, and 47,000 of them have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine – a figure that Dr. Sara Cody, county health officer and public health director, said she represents ” great progress “.
“Despite the fact that we are in the midst of an extremely difficult increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and the first vaccine shipments arrived during the holiday,” said Cody. “Health systems across the county have made great progress in vaccinating staff in the early layers of Phase 1A.”
To date, health systems across the county have received 110,280 first doses and 17,320 of the second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health also received an additional vaccine delivered directly to them.
Most health professionals are eligible to receive the vaccine through their employer, but those who are not can be vaccinated through the county.
Residents of long-term care institutions are receiving vaccines through the federal government’s Long Term Care Partnership Program.
As more vaccines arrive in the county, more appointments will be made and shipments are arriving every week.
The county’s health system alone is expected to reach 4,000 vaccinations a day by the end of next week, and in the coming weeks capacity will increase.
“We are opening several clinic-based sites across the county and we plan to open additional mass vaccination facilities in the near future,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate medical director at the Hospital and Clinics at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
As soon as the vaccine is offered to people in Phase 1A, the state will allow vaccination to begin in Phase 1B, which includes people over 75 and other “essential frontline workers” working in education, daycare, health services emergency and food and agriculture.
The second level of Phase 1B will include adults aged 65 to 74, people incarcerated and homeless, and those working in transportation, critical manufacturing and other sectors that are at risk of exposure through their work.
Still, health officials are begging the public to continue to follow health orders and safety protocols for COVID-19.
“Our progress so far in vaccinating our health workforce gives us great hope, but we must remain vigilant until most of our community is vaccinated. We all need to work together to overcome this, but we will get there,” Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, testing and vaccine officer for Santa Clara County COVID-19, said.
To learn more about vaccines or schedule an appointment through the municipality, click here.