The first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution program is underway in Santa Clara County, which could move on to the second phase as early as the end of January, health leaders said during a news conference on Friday.
They also described how people could get the vaccines and announced a new website, sccfreevax.org, with more information.
Health professionals and residents of long-term institutions who qualify for the first phase of implantation (Phase 1A) are receiving the initial batches of vaccines. The doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna give 95% immunity against the deadly coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Santa Clara County has a current quota of 110,000 doses of vaccine, with the most expected, said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, county COVID-19 testing officer. The county has 140,000 health workers eligible for the first round and about 47,000 have already been vaccinated. Of a team of 6,000 qualified nurses, about half have also received the vaccine since it came close to Christmas, said Fenstersheib.
The number of people who have actually been vaccinated in the county is greater, however, since the total does not take into account the additional vaccines administered by the Federal Veterans Administration health care system and long-term care facilities, he added.
There could potentially be up to 6,000 vaccinations a day next week, according to County Supervisor Otto Lee.
County health officer Dr. Sara Cody said health leaders will open vaccines for people in subsequent phases as soon as all eligible people in one phase are determined to have received the vaccines.
When Phase 1B opens, the county will make doses available to more people at two levels: Level 1 would focus on people aged 75 and over and workers in education, day care, emergency services, food and agriculture. Phase 1B Level 2 would include older adults aged 65 and over; transport and logistics workers; members of industrial, residential and commercial shelter facilities and services; critical manufacturing employees; incarcerated individuals and homeless people, according to state health officials.
Health professionals can currently receive vaccines through their health care provider, including Stanford Health Care, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Kaiser Permanente and county facilities, said Fenstersheib. The county is also implementing mass vaccination centers and currently has three, with the goal of opening a room next week, said Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate medical director at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
Cody said the county aims at a collective immunity of 85%, which was described by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to protect the population. Although some people are already protected because they contracted the infection, Cody said they still recommend that everyone be vaccinated. Even after receiving the doses, people will need to continue wearing their masks, practice social detachment and take other measures necessary to protect their families and others from infection. Even if they have immunity, they can still be carriers of the disease, she said.
By his estimate, about 1.5 million people in Santa Clara County would need to be vaccinated to reach the 85% level.
“We are still in an extraordinarily difficult situation” in terms of the number of infections that spread across the county, she said. Currently, the county receives an average of 1,200 new cases of COVID-19 per day. Across the county, more than 800 people have died since the virus appeared, and the number of beds available in intensive care units is now only 20 to 25 in the past few days, she said.
“Vaccination is absolutely essential for us to get out of this pandemic. We will be in a transition period in the coming months, ”she said.
Health leaders said the vaccine’s launch was somewhat delayed by the strategic complexity of several federal protocols for the two existing vaccines; strict requirements, such as deep freezing; the logistics of installing vaccine clinics near freezers; and the public’s fear of vaccine safety.
As more people get vaccinated and realize that there are relatively few adverse reactions, health leaders hope to increase vaccination rates, they said. The county also tracks adverse reactions through the Adverse Vaccination Notification System.
The sharp rise in infections and holidays also contributed to the difficulties, they said. Cody added that the main unknown is the impact they will see on the boxes in the weeks after the Christmas and New Year holiday trip.
When county leaders were asked how confident they were about receiving additional vaccine supplies, Fenstersheib said there was no reason to expect the county not to receive the necessary doses.
“We have no control over the federal government,” he said, but added that when President-elect Joe Biden’s government takes over after January 20, they have already pledged to increase vaccine resources.
Watch the full press conference here:
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