COVID-19 vaccines will now be available to all residents and workers in Santa Clara County aged 65 and over, regardless of where they receive their health care, county officials announced Thursday morning.
The significant change means that patients at Sutter / Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Stanford Health Care and other county providers can now go to any facility that offers the vaccines. The county and major health care providers reached an agreement after the persistent scarcity caused many providers to limit or even cancel consultations for the much-coveted vaccines, county executive Jeff Smith said during a news conference.
Kaiser, who serves about 40% of patients across the state, was particularly affected by the lack of vaccines, having received a disproportionately low number of doses, said Smith. The county was already having to reduce its supply of vaccines to provide extra doses to some health care providers to make up for some of the deficiencies, he said.
Distributing vaccines quickly and to the most vulnerable populations is crucial, said county health officer, Dr. Sara Cody.
A year and a week after Santa Clara County identified its first case of COVID-19, the county had more than 100,000 cases and 1,473 deaths. More than 80% of the people who succumbed were 65 or older, she said.
“I never imagined that we would be where we are today,” said Cody. “We must – and we can – prevent more deaths.”
Nor did Cody imagine that a safe and effective vaccine would be available so quickly, she said.
“The challenge is to reach the most vulnerable,” she said. The state still lacks doses and its guidelines change almost daily, creating chaos, he added.
The new county policy will allow patients to use any health care system, regardless of membership or insurance coverage. This includes the county’s public health system – the second largest in the state after Los Angeles.
“If we say we’re all in this together, we have to be honest,” said county supervisor Joe Simitian. “We have to give all residents of Santa Clara County access to the vaccine and do it faster.”
Smith said the county’s public health system, which has a separate supply from other major health care providers, has enough doses for two to three weeks. The county expects to receive an increasing number of doses, as the Biden government has announced that it will increase distribution by up to 20%.
On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state expects to receive more than one million doses of the vaccine in one week. The state is also partnering with federal authorities to open pilot mass vaccination sites. The first two will be located in Oakland and Los Angeles and may open on February 16.
The county’s public health system is currently administering 6,000 doses daily during the workweek and 1,000 doses on weekends, Smith said.
“We want to expand to 15,000 doses a day. The big caveat here is getting enough vaccine. We are ready, willing and able. We have the infrastructure to do that and all we’re waiting for is more vaccine, “he said.
The county will also provide vaccines through an increasing network of sites in communities most affected by infections, focusing on cities in the south of the county. The Department of Public Health is also continuing its effort to vaccinate people in long-term care facilities using its mobile vaccination clinics and to organize home visits for those at home and older than 75, he said.
So far, about 37% of county residents over 75 and 28% of those over 65 have been vaccinated, he said.
Local health providers say they are working according to county requirements.
“Sutter has made the COVID-19 vaccination available to eligible patients under public health guidelines – whether they are existing patients or those outside our network who have registered to become patients,” said Sutter, who includes the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, in a statement.
Stanford Health Care also said it would comply with state and local health departments.
“As the California Department of Public Health and local county health officials recently made changes to their vaccine distribution requirements, Stanford Health Care continues to work closely with these health agencies to ensure that eligible groups, as defined by the CDPH, can be vaccinated as soon as possible, “said Stanford Health Care in an updated statement on Thursday.
“Stanford Health Care’s COVID-19 vaccine supply is defined and distributed by local health authorities in the counties where we operate, and this supply is variable and unpredictable.”
Anyone currently qualified for vaccines can make an appointment or obtain information through the county’s vaccination website, sccfreevax.org.
Find comprehensive coverage of Midpeninsula’s response to the new coronavirus by Palo Alto Online, Mountain View Voice and Almanac On here.