Friday, January 22, 2021
Reflecting the county-wide commitment to protect all Contra Costa residents of COVID-19, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) today announced a new goal for the county and its health partners: delivering 1 million doses of the COVID vaccine -19 until Independence Day.
“There is no higher priority in Contra Costa County than delivering the COVID-19 vaccine to as many eligible residents as possible as quickly as possible,” said Diane Burgis, chairman of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. “We believe this to be a realistic goal, as long as our vaccine supply increases.”
The county’s announcement follows the promise made yesterday by new President Joe Biden to administer 100 million doses during the first 100 days of his administration.
“Together with our partners in the community, from major health systems to independent medical practices and supermarket pharmacies, we are building the infrastructure to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of county residents quickly and safely,” said Anna Roth, director of Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS). “When the doses arrive, they are not kept in freezers. They go straight to the public ”.
Contra Costa went from providing zero doses to more than 5,800 a day during the first month that the COVID-19 vaccine was made available, and the daily average continues to rise as community health providers offer more injections to patients and members, and as the CCHS opens more local operated community immunization counties.
If the state can provide enough vaccine, CCHS and our partners together will soon be able to deliver up to 9,000 doses of the vaccine per day. With advance contributions from other health systems in the community, Contra Costa could reach his goal of one million doses by July 4.
This week, the CCHS also launched its new telephone line for vaccine dialing – 1-833-VAX-COCO (1-833-829-2626). Now, those who are unable to schedule vaccine appointments online can call us and make an appointment Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 8 pm. Qualified residents seeking consultation are encouraged to use the online form, unless they do not have access to the Internet or have difficulty using the online form.
Other local resources, including links to other health care providers in the community that now offer vaccine, are available at coronavirus.cchealth.org/get-vaccinated.
The CCHS also has a new data panel on its COVID-19 web page, cchealth.org/coronavirus, which provides daily updates for the county’s vaccination campaign. More than 65,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have so far been administered in the county.
In addition to the first wave of vaccinees, which included health and emergency workers and people who live or work in residential healthcare institutions, all county residents age 65 and older can now request an immunization appointment through the CCHS.
Appointments with the CCHS are not served on a first-come, first-served basis. Every day, we prioritize care for people in the highest risk categories, according to state and federal guidelines, especially people aged 75 or over.
Appointments to other eligible residents can vary based on a number of factors, including age, underlying health problems, how close they live to a vaccination site where an appointment is available and whether they live in a neighborhood or community that is especially affected by COVID-19 . As the vaccine is scarce, the reality is that it may take weeks for some eligible residents to receive the vaccine.
As more private health systems serving Contra Costa expand the capacity to serve their members and patients, more county residents will hear from their own health providers about how and when they can access the COVID-19 vaccine.
Visit cchealth.org/coronavirus for local information about the COVID-19 pandemic and the Contra Costa immunization campaign.
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