Monday, January 11, 2021
WHAT
Contra Costa officials will inform the media about the status of the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in the county.
WHO:
Speakers Anna Roth, Director of Health Services at Contra Costa and Dr. Ori Tzvieli, deputy director of health and COVID-19 chief of operations for the county.
WHEN:
10:30 am Monday, January 11th.
WHERE:
The press conference will be held remotely via Zoom. Journalists can use this link to register to participate. The press conference will be broadcast live on the Contra Costa Health Services Facebook page.
The Contra Costa County health system is preparing to provide up to 7,000 vaccines per day in an effort to vaccinate all eligible residents in the next six months. The county expects to triple the number of vaccines offered this week as capacity increases.
Vaccination efforts in Contra Costa County began operating last month, creating scheduling systems and putting staff on site to meet demand. All of this is being done during the biggest outbreak of the pandemic.
“We are at the start of the largest public health immunization campaign in history and it will take time,” said director of Health Services Against Costa (CCHS), Anna Roth. “At some point, everyone who wants a COVID vaccine will be able to get it. Although we are not there yet, making the vaccine available to everyone is our top priority ”.
As of now, all but 1,400 of the 43,675 doses allocated in Contra Costa have been assigned to people in the priority groups in Phases 1A and 1B. All doses should be administered within the next 14 days, said Roth.
With the vaccine in limited supply now, immunizations are only available to priority groups in high-risk settings, such as frontline health professionals and residents and nursing home staff. Since January 10, 30,245 doses have been administered in the county by several health care providers, including Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) and John Muir Health, as well as the federal long-term care partnership with CVS and Walgreens. Safeway and Rite-Aid are completing their state registration process. Safeway will begin offering photos at one location this week, with additional locations arriving in the next two weeks.
Contra Costa County Deputy Health Officer and COVID’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Ori Tzvieli, asked the public to be patient while health systems increased their ability to keep up with the flow of vaccine supplies and meet demand.
“We continue to redirect all available resources for obtaining vaccines,” said Dr. Tzvieli. “At the same time, we are developing partnerships and networks that will ensure that all pharmacies and health care providers in the county can provide the vaccine, as more and more people qualify to receive it.”
The county has opened several vaccination sites in Contra Costa at health centers and other large facilities to vaccinate eligible individuals, and we are opening more sites each week. The CCHS has also begun to shift personnel from COVID test sites to vaccination efforts to increase capacity. We have also activated our voluntary Medical Reserve Corps to give vaccines, and the health department is working with firefighters to use paramedics to administer vaccines.
County health departments are not the only ones struggling. Private health systems like Kaiser, Sutter and John Muir Health – who are the main health providers for the vast majority of Contra Costa residents – are all stepping up their efforts to vaccinate their own members and inform them when it is their turn. . Pharmacies are also online to provide vaccines as more people become eligible. CVS and Walgreens are already vaccinating those living in long-term care institutions and their employees.
About 900,000 Contra Costa residents will be eligible for the vaccine once the County reaches Phase 2 of the distribution plan. To achieve community immunity levels, 75% of those eligible (725,000 people) would need to be vaccinated in the county. To immunize 725,000 people in the next six months (104 business days), about 7,000 people will need to be vaccinated each business day, on average. This will require a significant increase in vaccinations from current levels. During the first few weeks since the vaccine was made available in mid-December, 30,245 injections were administered – about 1,200 a day.
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