In an effort to support the slow release of the vaccine, Santa Clara County authorities on Friday urged all health professionals to receive their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine and said the vaccines were readily available at medical centers in the whole county.
However, just over three weeks since the first dose of the vaccine was administered, less than a third of health workers in the first phase were vaccinated, according to the county. The distribution of vaccines that already required intricate storage and transportation has become more complex due to the vast network of stages, phases and levels, said Dr. Sara Cody, a county public health officer, this Friday during a news conference. Overall, the initial launch was “encouraging,” she said, and the county was “excited about the partnership of all health systems for foot vaccination.”
As of Friday, Santa Clara County has administered approximately 47,000 of its approximately 110,000 first doses distributed, according to county officials, leaving more than 90,000 health workers in Phase 1A who have not yet received any vaccines. About 17,000 hospital workers will receive their second dose this week. For contextual purposes, approximately 26,000 county residents have gained at least temporary immunity from contracting the virus itself since the first doses went to arms on December 17.
“We are trying to get through Phase 1A as soon as possible,” said Cody. “It is a complete effort. Once we are sure that the people eligible for Phase 1A have made their nomination, we will be able to transition to Phase 1B. “
In Phase 1A only, there are three separate levels. Although this week, California has invited all health care providers to be vaccinated at an early stage. Once you reach Phase 1B, all frontline employees and anyone over 75 will be eligible. The phases have a “significant layer of complexity,” said Cody.
Dr Marty Fenstersheib, a county COVID-19 testing officer, said that he hopes to enter the next phase of vaccinations “sometime by the end of the month”, but that it will depend on the amount of doses the county has received.
County officials said they hope to increase vaccination to 6,000 a day by the end of next week, but Cody said the county has no plans to open a mass vaccination site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, like others that are emerging across the country. To reach the herd’s desired immunity limit for the county – immunity of at least 85% of residents – about 1.6 million vaccines will be needed. At the current rate, it would take more than two years to reach that goal. At a rate of 6,000 a day, it would take about nine months.
“I’m not a logistics person, but even I can appreciate how complex this is,” said Cody. Each of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines has its own “very particular storage and handling” – each requires refrigerated storage or, in the case of Pfizer, below zero – “that means the project must be close to the freezer,” said Cody.
Fenstersheib compared the launch of the vaccine with the start and operation of the county’s test operation in the first months of the pandemic.
“It was a considerable effort. It started slowly, ”he said, noting that the county now performs ten times more diagnostic tests than it did in the spring. “I think (the distribution of the vaccine) should start slowly and we hope it will increase … It will take time, but I think we will speed up our effort and vaccinate everyone in less than two and a half years, that is for sure.”
Any health professional, including hospital staff, long-term care facility residents and residents, medical first responders and dialysis centers, home health workers and those in intermediate care facilities, community health workers, public health staff, primary care clinic workers, specialist clinic staff, laboratory staff, dental clinics and pharmacy staff are eligible to schedule their vaccination appointment through their health care provider or county.